Singapore’s Sea slashed 7,000 jobs in six months to curb losses

The gaming and online-retail giant has lost almost 90% of its value since a peak last year on questions about its money-making prospects in an era of rising interest rates and intensifying competition. — Sea

Sea Ltd has cut about 7,000 jobs, or roughly 10% of its workforce, in the past six months as it fights to stem ballooning losses and win back investors, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Among the latest reductions is about 100 positions at Sea’s ecommerce arm Shopee, and those affected started to receive notices on Nov 14, according to people familiar with the matter. The newest cuts are a part of several waves of layoffs since June.

The gaming and online-retail giant has lost almost 90% of its value since a peak last year on questions about its money-making prospects in an era of rising interest rates and intensifying competition. The company has slashed jobs, shuttered its ecommerce operations in some European and Latin American markets and said it would reduce expenses to cope.

Sea is scheduled to report quarterly results on Nov 15, with analysts estimating widening losses and the slowest year-on-year revenue growth since 2017.

The latest cuts span recruitment, employee relationship management, training and other human resources functions in Singapore and China, the people said, asking not to be named discussing internal actions. The Information earlier reported the extent of Sea’s recent layoffs.

Affected staff include those supporting hiring and training across Shopee and its digital financial services arm SeaMoney, which oversees payment product ShopeePay, the people said. Managers have also been told to recruit more prudently as the company braces for an economic downturn.

“As part of the previously communicated exercise to optimise operating efficiency, we continue to carefully review our business projects and priorities in line with our goal of achieving self-sufficiency. We are also working to support our affected colleagues during this transition,” Sea said in a statement. The company ended 2021 with more than 67,000 people overall.

In September, billionaire co-founder Forrest Li announced in an internal memo that top management will forgo their salaries and tighten company expense policies as it attempts to curb spending. – Bloomberg