Indonesian start-up Gojek is axing 430 workers - mostly in Indonesia - and removing some services to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sackings - amounting to 9% of its total headcount - will be its only pandemic-related layoffs, the firm said.
The job cuts follow those of main rival Grab, which announced earlier this month that it was cutting about 360 positions, or about 5% of its headcount.
Gojek said, "The measures will provide the company with resources to focus on the business areas where it has the most impact... but also the services that have shown promise as a result of the pandemic, such as logistics, which has grown by 80%, or groceries, which has more than doubled."
Gojek will axe its GoLife service, which offers home services of massage and cleaning. Its physical food locations service will also be closed. "These businesses are dependent on close human interaction and have seen a significant downturn over the past few months as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected consumer habits," said Gojek.
Gojek Co-founders Kevin Aluwi and Andre Soelistyo apologised to affected employees in an e-mail yesterday. Mr. Soelistyo said the pair had naively imagined that Gojek's rate of growth would always accelerate, "We didn't plan enough for the inevitable downturn and we are paying for that now." Mr. Aluwi added, "One of my biggest fears as a leader is failing all of you... We are sorry that this time we have failed you."
