Chope Lays Off 24% of Their Workforce, Including 38 Workers from S’pore

By
Isaac Goh
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If I got a dollar for every time I had to write about another tech company undergoing layoffs, I wouldn’t have to write about another tech company undergoing layoffs. 

Chope Lays Off Employees

The app we know and love for its convenient and efficient restaurant reservation services is slashing its population. 

On Thursday (22 December), Singapore-based Chope announced layoffs of 24% of its employees, totalling 65 retrenched individuals. 

Of these, 38 are from its Singapore branch, according to CNA. 

The remaining 27 come from its other markets in Asia. Besides its Singapore headquarters, Chope has set up shops in Jakarta, Bali, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. 

In an interview with Tech in Asia, founder and CEO of the Alipay-backed platform Arrif Ziaudeen said the company was hit by the “fast-changing economic conditions” in the past few months. 

“With the restaurant business recovering strongly after COVID, we were optimistic when we should have been cautious. We are now forced to recalibrate our investment in long-term projects and focus on efficiency.”

Online job-sourcing platforms have also suggested that Chope has halted recruiting on top of the staff layoffs. 

To understand why Chope and so many other tech companies have recently cut their numbers, watch this blue kitty explain:

Departure Package

Like most local companies that have let go of staff, Chope has laid a cushion on the ground before pushing its employees off the building. 

According to the firm, employees were provided with a “departure package.” As of now, the details of the package are unknown. 

Also, they were “working within (their) network” to find job openings for the affected staff. 

“We are now focused on efficiency to continue our mission to be Asia’s leading dining platform. This does not impact our reservation service.”

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More About Chope

Founded on 15 June 2011, the restaurant has been standing for over a decade and has expanded its operations to seven cities. 

As of 2021, the real-time booking platform has 3.7 million users, more than half of Singapore’s population. 

Why is it so popular?

Apart from allowing customers to book their seats fuss-free, they occasionally provide deals and promotions and have a rewards-point system to keep users hooked. 

The platform allows users to browse through participating restaurants and reserve their spots or pre-order food for delivery and pick-up. 

They even have curated guides for picky or indecisive eaters. 

Chope attracts not only customers but also restaurants. 

Did you know it provides analytics based on the restaurants’ bookings? It also assists the staff in seating (and even pre-assigning seats to customers). 

On top of the app’s ability to manage reservations, it also tracks guests’ food preferences and visiting patterns for targeted marketing. 

Impressive, right?

I doubt any of us are surprised at Chope’s layoffs. It wasn’t the first we saw, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last we’ve seen.

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Featured Image: Chope

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Isaac Goh
Email: [email protected]