Southeast Asia’s tech companies are laying off workers as they brace themselves for a tougher fundraising environment.
Guilliermo Perales Gonzalez | E+ | Getty Images
Hundreds of workers from start-ups in Southeast Asia have been fired in the last few months, proving that the fast-growing industry is not immune to the global economic slowdown.
At least six tech companies have let go of their staff, including Sea Limited, the owner of Singapore-based e-commerce site Shopee.
Tech investors say this is just the beginning of more job cuts in the region’s tech industry. As interest rates rise and economic uncertainty looms, companies are now being forced to focus on profitability instead of growing as quickly as possible.
“Last year, a lot of what happened was a lot of cheap capital in the market flooded the market [which] allowed companies to grow really at any cost,” said Jessica Huang Pouleur, a partner at venture capital firm Openspace….
