Asia layoff tracker: Lazada cuts 5% of regional workforce

Job cuts may now be a regular feature in tech. Startups and global giants alike are still shedding workers, signaling that the turbulence in the sector is far from over.

Lazada has reduced its workforce in Southeast Asia by about 5% after a comprehensive review. The company did not specify which roles were affected, and The Business Times reported that the layoffs were not linked to any AI initiatives.

Earlier in June, rival Shopee also cut hundreds of developer jobs globally. The layoffs affected about 8% of its developer workforce, including quality assurance roles.

The pressure is also showing up at VC firms. Iterative, a Singapore-based early-stage accelerator, has cut its team from 16 employees to nine after shutting down most of its programs. The layoffs are part of a strategic shift to narrow its focus to AI-first companies.

These moves highlight how startups and tech companies face the heat as capital remains scarce and the economy continues to be shaky.

Tech in Asia data shows that, collectively, more than 127,000 workers in India, Southeast Asia, and China have been retrenched since H1 2022.

In terms of the number of terminated employees and affected companies, India has recorded the most layoffs across Asia.

Major tech firms outside of Asia are also downsizing as they streamline and restructure their operations.

In May, Meta cut roughly 8,000 roles, including some based in India and Singapore. It also reassigned 7,000 employees globally.

Intuit, the owner of email marketing platform Mailchimp, has laid off 3,000 employees, or around 17% of its workforce. The move is part of the company’s efforts to shift more of its resources toward AI.

Among Southeast Asian startups, the ecommerce sector has accounted for the most rounds of layoffs since 2023. In India, fintech and edtech firms have been hit the hardest.

In terms of funding stage, post-series C companies have had the most job cuts across China, India, and Southeast Asia. Pressure for these firms to become profitable after raising several funding rounds may have driven these retrenchments.

We hope that as we constantly update our database, it will be a useful reference for anyone interested in layoffs across tech startups in Asia. We acknowledge that we’re missing some data, so do reach out to duc@techinasia.com to help us fill in the gaps.

You can catch our coverage of layoffs here.