Asian food delivery service provider Foodpanda has laid off many of its staff in Southeast Asia, while Fidelity-backed global venture capital firm Eight Roads has handed out several promotions in its China team.
Foodpanda may continue to cut jobs in SG
Foodpanda is cutting workforce across Southeast Asia, as per media reports. The company owned by Germany’s Delivery Hero has laid off over 20% of its staff in Malaysia and about 50% of its employees in Thailand, according to an industry source.
About 400 employees in Malaysia were laid off, while the Singapore cuts are likely to be ongoing, as per the source. The layoffs are limited only to Foodpanda’s staff as delivery partners will be unaffected, reported New Straits Times.
Foodpanda had announced job cuts in September last year, laying off staff in the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore as a part of cost-cutting measures by parent company Delivery Hero to become EBITDA-positive.
Founded in 2012, Foodpanda runs operations in food, grocery delivery, and quick commerce in over 400 cities across 11 Asian markets, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Taiwan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
Eight Roads appoints three new partners
Eight Roads has promoted Shawn Shen, Cody Yin, and Gordon Zhang to partners in its China venture, as per a release.
Shen, who joined Eight Roads in 2014, currently leads investments in AI and deep tech. Yin works within the healthcare team, leading the firm’s investments in digital health, while Zhang invests in the fintech, software, smart manufacturing, and blockchain sectors in China.
After the promotion, Eight Roads Ventures China has 10 partners across its healthcare and technology teams. All three of the new partners had joined as associates in 2014.
“As we continue to build our portfolio, a key priority for us is to have the right talent in place to support and mentor our portfolio and teams,” said Jarlon Tsang, Managing Partner and Head of China at Eight Roads Ventures.
Eight Roads Ventures is currently managing over $11 billion of assets across China, India, Europe, Israel, Japan, and the US. The firm has invested in Alibaba, Beam Therapeutics, Pony.ai, Innovent Biologics, Insilico Medicine, Hibob, Medbanks, Semma Therapeutics, and WuXi PharmaTech.