Singapore-based Grab Holdings, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing and food delivery app, is cutting 1,000 jobs or 11 percent of its workforce, its CEO said on Tuesday (Jun 20), citing the need to manage costs and ensure more affordable services long-term.
In a letter sent to employees late on Tuesday and seen by Reuters, chief executive Anthony Tan said the cuts, the biggest since the start of the pandemic, was not “a shortcut to profitability” but a strategic reorganisation to adapt to the business environment.”Change has never been this fast. Technology such as generative AI (artificial intelligence) is evolving at breakneck speed. The cost of capital has gone up, directly impacting the competitive landscape,” Tan said in the letter.
“We must combine our scale with nimble execution and cost leadership so that we can sustainably offer even more affordable services and deepen our penetration of the masses.”
Tan said that even without layoffs, Grab had managed costs and should hit its target for group adjusted EBITDA breakeven this year.
The “superapp”, founded in 2012, offers deliveries, rides, and financial services in eight Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
“We are informing you after office hours for as many of our locations as possible, so you have the space and time to process the news privately,” Tan said in his letter, which also laid out measures to cushion the impact of the announcement.
These include a severance payment of half a month for every six months of completed service, or based on local statutory guidelines, whichever is higher.
There will also be a goodwill payment of an ex-gratia amount determined by Grab for “forgone target bonus and equity”.
The company said it will also provide career transition and development support in the form of a free one-year access to LinkedIn Premium subscription and LinkedIn learning, as well as access to sessions with a professional coach.
