Indonesia-listed technology group PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk on Thursday said its e-commerce arm will make “prudent decisions” regarding potential layoffs.
The company provided the update in a disclosure to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) after media reports emerged that ByteDance, which owns a majority stake in GoTo’s e-commerce arm, Tokopedia, was planning to cull jobs at the local unit. According to some reports, as many as 70% of Tokopedia employees could be laid off, and the Chinese internet company could terminate nearly 80% of its services.
ByteDance, the parent company of short video app TikTok, had acquired a majority stake in Tokopedia after its TikTok Shop social commerce services were banned under a new regulation in Indonesia. Following the deal, Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia have merged their operations, leading to potential redundancies.
“As a non-controlling minority shareholder, GoTo believes that the management of PT Tokopedia will make prudent decisions as to the management of its business, taking into account various considerations to ensure the best possible outcome for PT Tokopedia and all of its stakeholders,” GoTo corporate secretary RA Koesoemohadiani said, noting that any decisions taken by Tokopedia should be determined by its management.
Koesoemohadiani also denied there were plans to discontinue Tokopedia’s services. “To the best of the company’s knowledge, in its capacity as a non-controlling minority shareholder of PT Tokopedia, there are no plans to discontinue almost 80% of Tokopedia’s services,” she said.