CARSOME reportedly cutting jobs ahead of potential public listing

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Malaysian-founded used-car online marketplace, CARSOME Group, will reportedly be cutting hundreds of jobs as it seeks profitability in time for a possible public listing.

According to a report by The Business Times, the company will be cutting jobs across its markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, with the latter two being most affected.

Don’t miss: Carsome next to make layoffs

The company expected to break even with its first full year of profitability in 2024, following delayed plans for dual listing in Singapore and the United States last year, according to the report.

In 2023, the company shared on its website that it hit its first operational profitability milestone in Q1 and achieved approximately US$200 million in its latest financing round.

CARSOME Group has declined to comment.

However, this is not the first time the company is laying off employees to meet business goals. In September 2022, it underwent an “employee base optimisation” exercise that less than 10% of employees being laid off. Its executive team also forwent salaries for the remainder of that year to contribute to an ex gratia payment to departing team members.

Through the exercise, CARSOME aimed to focus on improving its productivity across its business, aligning resources with contributions to the bottom line, and enforcing stricter performance management.

This year, it also bolstered operations in Indonesia with the appointment of Anuja Ravendran as the new regional head of communications. Ravendran was brought on board to help identify communications opportunities and work with the regional teams to shape the firm’s reputation in numerous markets.

The firm said that it was also bolstering its Indonesian operations, having committed to investing in expanding its business in the nation’s planned Nusantara capital. It is also joined forces with Indonesia-based Electrum to contribute to the future of Indonesian mobility by encouraging the adoption of sustainable mobility solutions.

“CARSOME has been present in Indonesia since 2017 and we are committed to taking meaningful actions that support and contribute towards the nation’s socio-economic development needs,” said Eric Cheng, co-founder and group CEO of CARSOME, at the time.

More recently, it appointed Miguel Fernandez as the new group chief financial officer in November 2023 to contribute to its financial strategy and operations, according to a press release. Fernandez, who will report to Cheng, succeeds Juliet Zhu, who remains in her role as group president.

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