Shopee cuts Singapore jobs as Sea accelerates artificial intelligence expansion strategy
Shopee has cut jobs in Singapore as parent company Sea pushes deeper into artificial intelligence investments. The retrenchments come amid workforce adjustments affecting engineering and product teams, despite the technology group reporting higher profits in the latest quarter.
- Shopee has confirmed job cuts in Singapore following a review of operational and business priorities.
- Employees said affected staff were mainly from engineering and product teams and received severance packages.
- The layoffs come as Sea increases investments in artificial intelligence despite reporting stronger earnings.
SINGAPORE: E-commerce platform Shopee has confirmed job cuts in Singapore, saying the move followed a regular review of business operations as parent company Sea continues to expand its investments in artificial intelligence.
Responding to media queries on 10 June 2026, a Shopee spokesperson said the company routinely evaluates its staffing requirements and organisational needs.
“From time to time, departments may make adjustments based on operational and business priorities,” the spokesperson told state media CNA.
“These decisions are always made after careful consideration. For colleagues affected by any changes, Shopee is committed to providing support during this period of transition.”
The company did not disclose how many employees in Singapore were affected by the latest workforce reduction.
Bloomberg reported on 10 June that Shopee was cutting hundreds of developer roles globally, representing approximately 8 per cent of its developer workforce.
Shopee, one of Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce platforms, is headquartered in Singapore and maintains offices in more than 20 cities worldwide.
Workforce reductions reported across teams
Accounts from employees suggest the retrenchments extended across multiple departments.
According to CNA, two software engineers who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed they were laid off on Monday earlier this week.
One engineer said notification first came through the company’s internal messaging platform before a subsequent meeting with human resources representatives.
The engineer said affected employees were informed they would receive an “N+2” severance package, consisting of one month of salary for every year of service, plus an additional two months of pay.
Neither engineer was aware of the total number of employees affected.
A third employee whose role was not impacted told CNA there had been no company-wide email or town hall meeting informing staff about the retrenchment exercise.
The employee said they knew of at least 10 affected colleagues within Shopee’s Singapore operations and that most were from product and engineering functions.
Online discussions emerge after layoffs
Discussion surrounding the layoffs also surfaced on Reddit, where users claiming to be Shopee employees described a significant retrenchment exercise.
One user wrote that staff had been laid off on Monday and alleged that the exercise affected various departments.
“This one's pretty massive,” the user wrote.
Other Reddit users speculated that the latest workforce reduction was part of a longer pattern of restructuring within the company.
The posts alleged that Shopee had conducted recurring rounds of job cuts through performance reviews, restructuring exercises and mutual separation arrangements over several years.
Some users further claimed retrenchments were often carried out in smaller waves, affecting multiple departments while attracting limited public attention.
The online comments also described what users characterised as a high-pressure working environment and low employee morale.
Union and taskforce support activated
Although Sea is not unionised in Singapore, the company informed the Creative Media and Publishing Union (CMPU) in advance about the workforce adjustment.
A CMPU spokesperson said prior notification enabled the union to work closely with management to assist affected employees.
“Advance notification has enabled CMPU to work closely with management to better support affected employees through this challenging period,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that this included efforts to ensure fair compensation packages were provided.
CMPU representatives were also present during the retrenchment exercise to offer assistance and support.
The Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation likewise confirmed that Sea was working with CMPU to assist affected employees whose final working days fall between the end of June and the end of August.
In response to queries, the taskforce said Sea had committed to providing retrenchment benefits aligned with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment.
The taskforce was established in 2016 and comprises representatives from the Ministry of Manpower, Workforce Singapore, the National Trades Union Congress and the Employment and Employability Institute.
Layoffs come amid growing AI ambitions
The retrenchments coincide with Sea’s broader strategic push into artificial intelligence.
Sea, which is listed in New York, owns Shopee, gaming developer Garena and digital financial services business Monee.
In 2025, Sea chief executive Forrest Li reportedly told employees in an internal memo that the company could potentially achieve a trillion-dollar market capitalisation if it successfully embraced artificial intelligence and made the right strategic decisions.
Bloomberg reported in May that Sea had committed capital to both internal and external artificial intelligence initiatives as it sought new growth opportunities beyond its core e-commerce business.
The company further strengthened those ambitions in April when it launched an Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence in Singapore.
The initiative was established with support from Digital Industry Singapore, a joint office involving the Economic Development Board, Enterprise Singapore and the Infocomm Media Development Authority.
Speaking during the launch, Forrest Li described artificial intelligence as a critical capability for the company’s future growth.
“As AI continues to evolve, we see it as a foundational capability that strengthens how we build innovative products, operate at a global scale, and create value for the countless communities we serve,” he said.
Profits rise despite higher spending
The workforce reduction comes despite Sea reporting stronger financial performance in its latest quarterly results.
For the first quarter of 2026, operating expenses rose 43.4 per cent year-on-year to nearly US$2.6 billion.
The company’s cost of revenue also increased by 51.7 per cent to US$4 billion during the same period.
Despite the higher expenditure, Sea reported a 6.7 per cent increase in net income to US$438.2 million.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 9.3 per cent year-on-year to US$1 billion.
The latest retrenchment exercise marks another workforce adjustment for Shopee after earlier job cuts in 2022, when the company reduced headcount amid falling profitability and economic pressures linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
