1-7-2024 (SINGAPORE) In a strategic move aimed at ensuring long-term growth and diversifying its operations, logistics provider Ninja Van has announced a workforce reduction, impacting approximately 5% of its employees in Singapore. The decision comes as the company recognizes the need to expand beyond its core e-commerce logistics services and position itself for future challenges.
A Ninja Van spokesperson acknowledged the competitive landscape of the e-commerce industry in Southeast Asia, emphasizing the company’s commitment to diversifying its operations to secure sustainable growth.
“In line with the group’s direction, we have reviewed the roles within the organization to assess its alignment with our future needs,” the company stated. Ninja Van, which commenced operations in Singapore in 2014 and has since expanded across Southeast Asia, expressed regret over the unavoidable layoffs affecting 5% of its workforce in the city-state, despite efforts to minimize the impact.
This latest round of job cuts follows a previous workforce reduction in April, when Ninja Van laid off approximately 10% of its regional tech team. The timing of those earlier layoffs drew criticism from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), which expressed dismay at the decision occurring just before Labour Day – a occasion to celebrate workers’ contributions.
Elaborating on its strategic shift, Ninja Van highlighted its recent expansion into other logistics verticals, including business-to-business (B2B) restocking and cold chain operations. “Earlier this year, we announced our expansion into other logistics verticals of B2B restock and cold chain, made possible with our existing e-commerce infrastructure and tech-enabled logistics solutions,” the company stated.
Ninja Van assured that employees with transferable skills have been transitioned to support these newly launched logistics verticals, underscoring the company’s commitment to retaining and redeploying talent where possible.
While the company declined to disclose the exact number of workers affected by the latest retrenchment exercise or the specific roles impacted, it assured that those affected have received a “reasonable severance package” to support their transition. The package includes one month’s severance pay per full year of employment, garden leave until the last working day, career transition support, access to company resources for handovers and farewells, an extended deadline for exercising vested options, and extended medical insurance and mental health support until December 31.
