Jakarta, IO – Thousands of Grab Holdings workers will lose their jobs as the company’s CEO Anthony Tan, made the decision to retrench the workforce.
Anthony Tan acknowledged that the layoff was the biggest since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, he assured that the step was not a shortcut to profitability, per Merdeka, Thursday (22/6).
The boss of the Singapore-based company called the imminent layoffs a strategic reorganization to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment.
“Change has never been faster. Technologies like generative AI (artificial intelligence) are developing at breakneck speed. Costs of capital have been rising, directly impacting the competitive landscape,” said Tan.
In May, Grab reported a quarterly loss of US$250 million. However, the company’s revenue in Q1-2023 rose 130.3 percent to US$525 million over last year.
Grab’s last layoff took place in 2020. At that time, 360 people were let go in response to the impact of the pandemic. According to a report in September last year, the company said there was no plan for mass layoffs despite the weak market.
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Later in December, Tan told staff that the company was freezing most hiring, salaries for senior managers and cutting travel and spending budgets.
Superapp Grab, founded in 2012, offers a variety of services that customers can enjoy include ride hailing, food/parcel delivery, travel and financial services in eight Southeast Asian countries. (un)