Logistics technology firm Ninja Van has cut 5 percent of its Singapore staff on Monday (July 1) in another round of layoffs. This move comes amid the company’s expansion into business-to-business restocking and cold chain logistics, the Straits Times (ST) reported, citing the company.
According to a Ninja Van spokesperson, the firm was “unable to avoid layoffs” after reviewing the roles in accordance with the group’s direction. It will be focusing on its core operations and sales by cutting tech cost.
“In line with the group’s direction, we have reviewed the roles within the organisation to assess their alignment with our future needs. Unfortunately, despite our efforts to minimise impact, we were unable to avoid layoffs impacting 5 per cent of our colleagues in Singapore.”
Ninja Van declined to respond to ST’s queries on the size of its workforce and whether Singapore was the only country affected. However, an anonymous source revealed to ST that junior technology staff across all segments were hit by the layoffs, as well as those in other divisions, such as marketing.
A report from The Business Times, citing a source, stated that staff in Indonesia and Vietnam were also affected by the cuts.
According to the Ninja Van spokesperson, those laid off were paid one month of severance for each full year of employment and put on gardening leave until their last working day, which was not disclosed.
Their medical insurance and mental health support have been extended to Dec 31, 2024, and the deadline to exercise vested stock options has also been extended from 30 days to a year.
The company will provide career transition support, such as curriculum vitae reviews and interview training.
To facilitate proper handovers and farewells, retrenched employees will retain company chat and office access, the spokesperson added.
The latest round of layoffs follows an earlier round less than three months ago in April, when Ninja Van laid off 21 employees, who then represented about 10 percent of its regional tech team and 20 percent of its local tech team.
The timing of the April round of layoffs, just before May Day, prompted a response from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), which said it was “dismayed” that Ninja Van initiated retrenchment exercises ahead of a public holiday meant to celebrate workers’ contributions.
In FY 2023, Ninja Van’s revenue declined 7 percent year on year, mainly due to an almost 20 percent drop in parcels handled. Its operating losses also grew 32 percent in the same period. The delivery company, which counts Alibaba and Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group as investors, said in March that it was putting its stock market debut on hold to focus on improving profitability.
Featured Image Credit: Bloomberg
