Tokopedia Mass Layoffs Happened due to Dependence on Investors, Observer Says

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Labor observer from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Tadjudin Nur Effendi analyzed the occurrence of mass layoffs in the Indonesian e-commerce company Tokopedia. According to him, one indication of the mass layoffs of 450 employees of the local market company was due to dependence on investors.

“They did not carry out this internal restructuring which caused them to face difficulties. These workers need to be careful in facing similar situations, first of all they need to be aware of financial instability. "That can't be done, the company relies on investors," he said when contacted, Saturday, June 22, 2024.

He said that the global economic situation was unstable recently, coupled with internal influences regarding investor demands for startup companies. According to him, drastic changes in start-ups can be seen from the reduction in the benefits of what the company offers.

"So usually these changes will be followed by salary delays, so if there are signs of a reduction in salary payments, it could be due to budget delays. "That means there is a budget problem inside," he said.

He said that global economic constraints must be read by market companies such as Tokopedia, by reconsidering the results of regulations and changes in technological trends. If they don't immediately carry out trend analysis, he said, they will be left behind.

“But in this uncertain economic situation, investors must be careful. They think about the pros and cons in the future. In fact, they have already had signs that since Covid-19, especially in relation to solving economic problems, there has been a slowdown. "There are restrictions on industry," he said.

Previously, Tokopedia's Vice President of Corporate Communications, Nuraini Razak, said the reason for the layoffs was due to overlapping roles within the company. Nuraini said this decision was taken after reviewing each unit, department or function in the business to build a stronger e-commerce or marketplace team in Indonesia.

"One of the challenges we face is overlapping roles in some of our new e-commerce teams," said Nuraini when contacted via messaging application, Thursday, June 20, 2024.

Nuraini said the company had identified several similar roles from various teams that needed to be adjusted. He was reluctant to specify what those roles were. However, he admitted that he had reviewed and considered this decision carefully.

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