Shopee layoffs hit payments, food delivery and LatAm teams

Singapore-based ecommerce firm Shopee is making “adjustments” to its headcount that will impact its teams in Southeast Asia, and Latin America, as well as its business in Europe, according to an internal company announcement seen by Tech in Asia.

In an email sent to employees last night, Shopee CEO Chris Feng said that the changes will affect some roles in the ShopeeFood and ShopeePay teams in Southeast Asia, as well as the ecommerce firm’s operations in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Despite the job cuts, Feng assured that the respective businesses will continue to operate as usual, and that it is “committed to providing the same level of support to our users, partners, and merchants.”

However, the company will halt its early-stage pilot in Spain, which will see “adjustments” in the cross-border team supporting operations in the European country.

The layoff, which was first reported by Tech in Asia yesterday, was carried out to “optimize operations in certain segments and markets”, the email reads. Feng says he the move will ensure that Shopee can “continue scaling sustainably, and ultimately, win”.

“This was a very difficult decision to make and I know that this will have a major impact on affected team members and their families. We will do the very best we can to support them through this transition,” Feng said in the email.

Tech in Asia has reached out to Shopee for confirmation.

The move was not the first cost-cutting measure carried out by Shopee this year. In early March, the company shut down its operations in France after setting foot in the country last year as part of its European push. Later that month, it pulled the plug on its India operation, parting ways with over 300 staff in the country.

Track all the layoffs across Asia here and help us maintain this list by filling this form with any information on job cuts and affected employees.

Correction (June 14, 2022, 1:55 p.m. SGT): The original headline and article suggested that the Shopee team in Europe was affected by the layoffs. This is incorrect as the company does not have a team in Europe, but it has a cross-border team that supports its operation in the region.