The e-commerce company promises retrenchment packages for affected staff
Singaporean e-commerce firm Shopee is laying off developers globally amid the company's growing adoption of artificial intelligence tools, according to reports.
About 8% of Shopee's developer workforce is affected by the changes, which take effect this week. Among the known impacted jobs are quality assurance roles, The Straits Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
A spokesperson from Shopee's parent company, Sea, confirmed the cuts in a statement to The Straits Times.
"These decisions are always made after careful consideration. For colleagues affected by any changes, we are committed to providing support during this period of transition," the spokesperson told the news outlet.
Cuts in Singapore
In Singapore, the Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation said it has been informed of the workforce changes, and that the last working day of affected employees falls between end-June and end-August.
Sea is also providing a retrenchment package in line with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment guidelines, and is working closely with the Creative Media and Publishing Union (CMPU).
Representatives from the CMPU were at Shopee's office at Geneo and Sea's headquarters at One North this week to provide support to affected union members and employees.
"The union is working with the management to ensure that affected members and workers are offered fair compensation packages, and that the adjustment is conducted fairly and responsibly, in accordance with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment," a CMPU spokesperson told The Straits Times.
According to The Straits Times, it is unclear whether the cuts at Shopee are because of AI adoption.
But it comes as Sea was previously reported to have set up a dedicated team to scout for new investments in AI. Sea CEO Forrest Li also declared last year that a trillion-dollar market capitalisation was possible if the company doubled down on AI, The Straits Times reported.
