The Impulso Podcast E49: What’s behind Lazada layoffs
Jan 4, 2024
A deep dive into recent regional layoffs at a major e-commerce player and the spread across Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. They explore centralising functions to boost agility and the company’s complex organisational history. Competition from TikTok Shop, Temu and Shopee and how that reshapes strategy is discussed. The conversation focuses on execution and organisational change as the path forward.
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Centralising To Reduce Duplication
- Lazada is centralising repetitive country functions into regional teams to become more agile.
- The move aims to deploy resources faster across Southeast Asia and reduce duplicated roles.
Layoffs Across Multiple Markets
- Layoffs hit multiple Lazada markets including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam on the first working day of 2024.
- Some employees reportedly received eight- to nine-months' pay as compensation in certain countries.
Legacy Complexity Slowed Decisions
- Lazada built complex legacy structures from Rocket Internet and Alibaba eras that slowed decision-making.
- Multiple leadership changes and local variations created fragmentation and unclear accountability.