As many employees return to the office following the holiday season and New Year’s break, a surprise awaits employees at Lazada. It’s not the kind of surprise that makes you happy, like a job promotion or salary increment.
On Wednesday (3 January 2024), a distressing announcement left many employees at the Lazada office in tears.
During a meeting, several Lazada employees were informed at the last minute that they had lost their jobs.
While abrupt layoffs at major tech-driven companies are not unheard of, employees at the Singapore office of Lazada became the most recent victims of such workforce adjustments.
Lazada Began the Retrenchment Exercise on 3 Jan 2024
According to The Edge Singapore, employees at Lazada received calendar invitations for one-on-one meetings with the human resources department at the end of the workday on 2 January 2024.
An employee, who chose to remain anonymous, mentioned that HR had reserved meeting rooms for the entire week, indicating that the retrenchment process would continue until the end of the week.
Meanwhile, CNBC reported that the staff reductions affected Lazada employees throughout Southeast Asia, with the Singapore office experiencing the most significant impact.
In interviews conducted by Channel NewsAsia with three Lazada employees, it was revealed that nearly a hundred employees from various departments within the company had been notified of their retrenchment.
According to these employees, certain departments had experienced substantial reductions, going from approximately 20 to 30 employees to just four or five.
Lazada Staff Claim Retrenchment Process Was “Unfair”
According to CNA, some employees were forced to cancel their leaves in order to attend the unexpected meeting.
Employees expressed frustration with the retrenchment, saying the situation was “unfair” and “baffling”. They said that this lack of clarity had led to heightened anxiety and speculation among their colleagues.
The employees said that even star performers and recently promoted individuals were laid off, making it impossible to predict who might be next.
According to the interviewees, the absence of communication and transparency from the management played a major role in this dissatisfaction. The affected Lazada employees believed that the retrenchment process could have been handled with greater compassion.
Lazada Makes Adjustments for a “Streamlined” Working Process
A Lazada spokesperson stated on Wednesday evening that they are proactively implementing changes to reshape their workforce, aiming for a “more agile and streamlined approach to meet future business demands”.
They added that Lazada has continuously evolved over the past few years to maintain a sustainable business growth model.
This ongoing transformation has led to a reevaluation of workforce requirements and operational structures to ensure that Lazada is well-prepared to future-proof its business and its people.
As for the staff recently laid off, Digital Industry Singapore, a government agency dedicated to supporting the technology sector’s growth, said that they are collaborating with Lazada and other government agencies to assist affected employees in finding alternative job opportunities.
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