Following reports of Shopee laying off hundreds of employess in 3 markets (Singapore, China, and Indonesia), we spoke to several sources that confirmed Malaysia was similarly hit with restructuring exercises.

Our source mentioned that layoffs were executed across different departments with some losing five to six and others up to 10.

The person detailed that many "backend staff" were affected and although there are no official figures, our source estimates about 100 people from this category was let go.

Another source who was not affected by the layoffs and who is currently still working at Shopee mentioned that the exercise was run after a townhall at which a HR representative read from a script that the restructuring was to take place.

In the announcement, staff were told that those who were affected by the layoffs would receive an email along with a good severance package.

According to our sources, the email was sent in the final week of September and those affected would be let go with three days notice.

We looked on LinkedIn to coroborate this story and found similar accounts of staff who are open to work now which aligns with their stories.

The news of layoffs in Malaysia was to be expected as Shopee has already closed down operations in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, India, and France, among others.

Their CEO had previously announced that he would forgo his salary till self-sufficiency was achieved.

On top of this, ShopeePay will disable withdrawals to your bank for money in your ShopeePay wallet from 14 Octotber onwards, likely in an attempt to maintain its cash reserves.

To staff who are affected by layoffs, our hearts are with you. Stay strong. If you'd like to chronicle your time at Shopee anonymously, we're open to listen.

Cover image: Hiredly, Proreno.com.my