Online travel agency Agoda has retrenched approximately 50 employees in Singapore as part of a broader workforce reduction exercise affecting three countries.
The Singapore-headquartered company announced the cuts during a closed virtual townhall on 4 Aug 2025, targeting its customer experience group departments in Singapore, Shanghai, and Budapest.
However, everyone is looking at something else.
Severance Agreement Under Scrutiny
Affected employees received severance agreements containing clauses that have drawn sharp criticism from labour groups and government agencies.
The agreements reportedly instructed workers not to make reports to government agencies, statutory boards, or trade unions, including the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management, and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices.
Employees who breach these terms would lose their severance entitlements and potentially face demands to repay any amounts already received. The sum would be recoverable as a debt, along with all legal costs incurred by Agoda in recovery efforts.
Government and Union Response
MOM has launched an investigation into what it termed “inappropriate” severance clauses. The ministry’s probe comes after concerns were raised about the legality and ethics of the agreement terms.
The National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union issued a joint statement expressing they were “appalled” by the allegations. NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said he was “deeply disappointed” by Agoda’s alleged handling of the retrenchment.
“This practice, if true, is irresponsible and regrettable. It goes against a fundamental right of every worker — the right to seek redress when they face workplace issues,” the labour groups stated.
Company’s Position
Agoda confirmed the layoffs were “in line with Agoda’s continuous improvement drive to enhance operational efficiency”. The company spokesperson said it had “phased out customer support roles” in the three locations while creating new positions elsewhere.
“This move is designed to consolidate our customer support teams in areas where we have the strongest operational flexibility and capability as we continue to grow our business,” the spokesperson added.
The company maintains it remains committed to keeping a strong local presence in Singapore and continues to follow relevant local laws.
Agoda stated that impacted employees received support throughout the transition process and were free to seek legal options or engage with authorities.
Employee Allegations
Interestingly, one affected employee revealed that management had previously explained during internal townhalls that Singapore customer experience staff existed “mainly to satisfy the local workforce quota” under the S Pass scheme.
The scheme requires companies to maintain a certain ratio of local employees to hire foreign workers. The employee described feeling treated as “part of a quota” and disposed of when no longer valuable to the company.
Staff members affected ranged from customer specialists to regional managers, comprising multilingual support teams that handled traveller queries. The retrenched employee’s last day of work was set for 3 Sep 2025.
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