PropertyGuru Cuts 79 Jobs After Review to Future-Proof the Business

PropertyGuru has laid off 79 employees as part of organisational changes aimed at future-proofing its business.

Mr Hari V Krishnan, PropertyGuru Group CEO and managing director announced this decision through a message sent to employees on 27 February 2024, which was subsequently published on the company’s website.

The message detailed the reason behind the layoffs and the planed retrenchment packages.

A Brief Background of PropertyGuru

PropertyGuru is a Singapore-based company that was founded in 2006 by two entrepreneurs, Steve Melhuish, and Jani Rautiainen.

In 2006, both the co-founders were looking for a new home in Singapore and faced challenges in finding updated pricing information and available sources for property choices.

They soon discovered that other property seekers were facing the issues. This motivated them to find a solution, hence, the company was formed and officially launched in 2007.

Since its launch, the company expanded overseas to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

What PropertyGuru Does

PropertyGuru operates as a digital real estate marketplace across several Southeast Asian countries. It provides a platform where users can buy, sell, rent, and research properties in the aforementioned countries.

The company hosts more than a whopping 2.9 million real estate listings and serves 37 million property seekers, including more than 59,000 active real estate agents.

It provides comprehensive property listings, market trends, insights and tools such as mortgage calculators. Additionally, PropertyGUru provides a “PropertyGuru Finance” service, making the application of home loans hassle free.

Basically, if you want to buy or rent a property in Singapore, you’d look at the propertyguru website first.

Organisational Changes Within the Company

Mr Hari cited “volatile market conditions and changing customer needs” as reasons for the company to adapt its strategy to ensure sustainable growth.

This adaptation involves the “re-architecting” of the organisation. Changes will be made to the organisational structure, their team composition, operational processes, and addition of automation where possible.

Among the strategic decisions made is the closure of non-scalable and non-profitable businesses such as two out of nine branches in Vietnam. They also aim to consolidate technology delivery and enhance customer support.

79 employees, comprising 5% of their total workforce, were impacted as a result of the changes. Here’s what the retrenched employees will get.

Retrenchment Package for Affected Employees

Rest assured; the affected employees will receive ample support from the company.

Firstly, they will receive Enhanced Severance Packages. This includes severance pay of “one month for each year of service capped at twelve months or country statutory pay, whichever is higher.”

Additionally, they will receive a goodwill payment of 1-month base salary. Non-sales employees remain eligible for their 2023 annual performance bonus whereas Sales employees will receive their sales commission from February and March.

In addition to financial support, Wellbeing Support will be given. This comes in the form of medical insurance (or a lump sum payment in lieu) and an extended access to their employee assistance program for three months after the last date of employment.

Career Transition Assistance will also be provided. The affected employees can get in touch with a personal consultant to gain support for a career transition and job search. To aid in their job search, the employees can even keep their work laptop.

Furthermore, the company will provide Additional Support for Employment Visas. Extended leave without pay will be provided for up to three months, repatriation support will be provided where needed, and financial support will be given in case of early exit of residential tenancy.