Massive layoffs, “N+2” compensation! Why is Shopee shrinking so rapidly?

The expansion effect was not as expected and the company's business shrank

In September 2021, Sea raised $6 billion in financing through stock sales for global expansion , and has successively opened up multiple overseas markets including Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, France, Spain, India , etc. However, the growth momentum of global e-commerce has gradually slowed down this year, and these new markets and businesses have not brought any real benefits to the company.

On August 16, Sea released its second quarter financial report, showing that the company achieved revenue of approximately US$2.9 billion , a year-on-year increase of 29.0%, but its net loss reached US$931.2 million , more than double the same period last year . Shopee, one of its two main businesses, had a GMV of US$19 billion in the second quarter, with a further decline in year-on-year growth and lower than the market's lowered expectations of US$19.9 billion.

It was also from the end of last year that Sea's stock price began to fall. As of yesterday's closing , Sea was priced at US$57.28 per share, a drop of more than 84% from its peak of US$372.59 per share in October 2021 .

▲ The picture comes from Baidu Stock Market

Optimize specific business to reduce costs and increase efficiency

According to Shopee employees, this is not a layoff based on an overall ratio , but an optimization and adjustment of specific business departments and positions . Some businesses with poor performance have a higher ratio of layoffs. For example, the Food business line is the hardest hit area in this layoff.

▲ Image from CNA