Singapore's Sea Cuts Jobs, Shuts Projects After Recording Almost US$1 Billion In Quarterly Losses
- Kyle Chua
- Sep 3, 2022
- 2 min read
Singapore tech conglomerate Sea has reportedly ramped up efforts to drive profitability back up after its net losses widened in the second quarter of the year.
The New York-listed e-commerce and gaming group has started cutting jobs and shutting projects in some units, according to Reuter's sources. Staff at Booyah!, a gaming livestream and community platform under Garena, were already informed they would be let go, with the app no longer receiving future updates. Between 30 to 40 employees would be affected by the job cuts.
Meanwhile, Sea Labs, the group's development arm, would be similarly cutting staff members and shutting some projects related to blockchain technology and public cloud services.
Another of Reuter’s sources claims that major projects were also being shuttered, with “dozens of people” being let go, though no specifics were given.
A spokesperson for Sea told the news outlet that the purpose of the cuts was to improve the efficiency of its operations as it focuses on the long-term strength of its ecosystem. The group declined to say how many jobs were affected.
Sea's stock price has been taking a beating since the start of the year, already dropping by 72% during the period. The group in its last quarterly report recorded a net loss of US$931 million, which is more than double from US$433.7 million last year.
Garena, for example, is seeing a sharp year-on-year decline in revenue and bookings, which is likely driven by government bans on its games in India. The publisher's revenue fell to US$900.3 million from US$1 million last year.
The news of the cuts comes days after it was reported that Shopee rescinded jobs on short notice, inconveniencing a number of foreign prospective employees who have already travelled to Singapore to start the onboarding process. Shopee in June conducted mass layoffs across multiple divisions in its offices in Southeast Asia, Mexico and Latin America. It also abruptly shut down operations in India earlier this year, mere months after first launching in the country.
Singapore tech giant Sea has reportedly started cutting jobs and shutting projects in some units in a bid to improve the efficiency of its operations and minimise net losses.
Staff at Booyah!, a gaming livestream and community platform under Garena, were already informed they would be let go, with the app no longer receiving future updates.
Sea Labs, the group's development arm, would also be cutting staff members and shutting some projects.
