Indonesia-listed tech company Bukalapak reduced its headcount in a new round of layoffs as part of its efforts to optimise its operations, an executive said on Wednesday.
Bukalapak did not disclose the number of employees that were let go or from which department they previously belonged. The company, however, said that it will provide a severance package for the employees who have lost their jobs, in accordance with regulations.
“As part of the nature of the evolving business, Bukalapak has continuously evaluated our performance to meet our customers’ needs better and optimise our operations,” Suryo Sasono, senior vice president of talent at Bukalapak, said.
“The evaluations resulted in changes that may impact many areas, including our product, technology, process, and talents. Some changes will be more challenging than others, but we are confident that it is necessary to ensure our business’s long-term sustainability,” Sasono added.
Tech In Asia had first reported that Bukalapak fired employees from its customer service, Mitra business, and product and engineering teams.
Bukalapak had laid off 10% of its manpower, or around 250 employees, in 2019 to maintain the sustainability of its business strategy.
It recently reported nearly $26 million in losses for the first six months of 2023, bringing the company back in the red after a profit in the same period a year earlier. Bukalapak’s recent financial results, however, reflected more rapid progress towards its adjusted EBITDA breakeven than expected.
During this period, Bukalapak spent 378.3 billion rupiah ($24.9 million) in salaries, wages, and employee benefits. That was about 55% of Bukalapak’s total general and administrative expenses in H1.
Spending on salaries dropped from 456 billion rupiah in Jan-June 2022. Bukalapak spent 325.7 billion rupiah on salaries, wages, and employee benefits in Jan-June 2021 and 305.9 billion rupiah in the same period a year earlier.
Several tech companies have resorted to lay offs recently citing various reasons, from uncertain macroeconomic conditions that hampered sales to more demanding profitability targets.
During the same month, Jakarta-based open finance API platform Ayoconnect also laid off 10% of its workforce as part of efforts to reach profitability.