Alibaba Competitor Braces To Terminate 3% Of Cash Burning E-commerce Arm Staff In Indonesia

Global hit game Free Fire developer Sea Limited SE prepared to oust 3% of Shopee employees in Indonesia, as planned to curb losses and win back investors, Bloomberg reports citing an internal memo.
Sea reported a nearly $1 billion quarterly loss in April-June.
Sea operates three core businesses across digital entertainment, e-commerce, as well as digital payments and financial services, known as Garena, Shopee and SeaMoney, respectively.
The management informed the impending layoffs during a town hall on September 19 for affected teams, including Shopee’s marketing and operations units.
Sea will begin notifying affected staff at its cash-burning e-commerce arm.
The 3% cut in Indonesia aligns with layoffs of a low-single-digit percentage across the division.
Sea ended 2021 with more than 67,000 people overall.
Sea justified changes as part of its ongoing efforts to optimize operating efficiency to achieve self-sufficiency and looked to offer severance packages and assistance.
Sea lost $170 billion of market value since an October high on questions about its money-making prospects amid rising interest rates and intensifying competition from Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA.
Last week, co-founder Forrest Li shared internally that the top management would forgo their salaries and tighten company expense policies.
Sea’s Shopee division, in particular, has pulled back from major markets in Europe and Latin America.
Sea also looked to reduce headcount in gaming, its most profitable division, and new ventures at its research and development arm. The gaming arm Garena will likely post its first decline in bookings this year.
Price Action: SE shares closed lower by 2.90% at $59.01 on Friday.
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