Lazada Cuts 5% of Staff Across SE Asia, Including Singapore Roles
Source: The Business Times
Lazada has laid off approximately 5 per cent of its workforce across all six Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, as the e-commerce platform pivots from growth-at-all-costs toward operational efficiency.
Lazada has laid off approximately 5 per cent of its workforce across all six Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, as the e-commerce platform pivots from growth-at-all-costs toward operational efficiency. The cuts follow similar moves by rivals Shopee, which trimmed 8 per cent of its developer workforce earlier in June, and Amazon, which reduced its Singapore headcount while shuttering its local grocery delivery business. For Lazada, this is the first significant round of layoffs since January 2024.
The company stated that the reductions stem from a routine review of business needs and role requirements, and emphasised that they are not directly tied to any artificial intelligence initiative. However, industry observers note that AI is reshaping how e-commerce companies structure their teams. Li Jianggan, founder of regional research firm Momentum Works, told The Business Times that while Lazada's adjustment reflects a maturing market rather than an AI-driven overhaul, AI is becoming an important part of Lazada's strategy and will inevitably influence organisational priorities over time.
In Singapore, Lazada is coordinating with the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) to manage the process. Affected union members will receive a year of union membership and training grant support, and the company is aligning with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment. Non-union employees in Singapore will receive S$1,200 in training support. The measured approach contrasts with the more aggressive cuts seen elsewhere in the industry and reflects Singapore's established framework for managing workforce transitions.
The layoffs signal a broader structural shift in Southeast Asian e-commerce. After years of breakneck expansion fuelled by venture capital, the region's major platforms are now under pressure to demonstrate profitability. Lazada's parent company Alibaba has been streamlining its international operations, while Shopee parent Sea Limited is focusing on cost discipline after its own restructuring wave. The maturing market means fewer new hires, leaner teams, and a greater emphasis on automation and AI tools, even if this particular round was not explicitly driven by them.
Why it matters for Singapore: Singapore is home to Lazada's regional headquarters, and tech sector layoffs here carry outsized signalling weight given the city-state's ambitions as a regional tech hub. This round, like the Shopee and Amazon cuts before it, tests the effectiveness of Singapore's tripartite framework for managing workforce transitions. The training support and union coordination provide a safer landing for affected workers, but the pattern of repeated e-commerce layoffs raises questions about how many of the roles lost to efficiency drives and AI adoption will come back, and in what form.