Indonesian digital payments unicorn Xendit is laying off 5% of its staff in Indonesia and the Philippines. In a statement on Tuesday, the firm cited “uncertain macroeconomic conditions” for the retrenchment.
Tessa Wijaya, Xendit’s chief operating officer, said the company undertook comprehensive considerations before announcing the layoffs. “It is a difficult decision, but we need it to optimise our business for the short- and long-term,” said Wijaya.
The impacted staff will get adequate compensation and additional benefits, which include health insurance extension, psychological assistance, and support to get a new job faster, she said.
Xendit entered the unicorn club following a $150 million Series C round that Tiger Global Management led in September last year. In May 2022, it raised $300 million in a Series D funding round led by global investors Coatue Management and Insight Partners.
Xendit’s unicorn status was a pleasant surprise for the Indonesian tech scene as it was a lesser-known company due to the nature of its behind-the-scenes business as a payments gateway.
Layoffs are becoming more common among big tech companies in the region. In September 2022, Sea Ltd., the parent company of e-commerce platform Shopee, was reportedly laying off employees in Shopee Indonesia as part of regional job cuts to curb losses.
Citing an internal memo and a source familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported that Sea is reducing Shopee Indonesia’s headcount by 3%.
Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange Tokocrypto also announced a decision to trim its manpower and separate its community hub and NFT marketplace platforms into separate entities. Tokocrypto laid off 20% of its 227 employees due to “some consideration in business focus shifting,” the company said.
The company also said it would focus on its exchange platform and separate its blockchain community T-Hub and NFT marketplace platform TokoMall into different entities. Once separated, the units may be open for potential joint ventures or new investors.