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  • Grab cuts 1000 jobs

    Grab cuts 1000 jobs

    Singapore-based Grab Holdings, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing and food delivery app, is cutting 1,000 jobs or 11 per cent of its workforce, its CEO said on Tuesday, citing the need to manage costs and ensure more affordable services long term.

    In a letter sent to employees late on Tuesday and seen by Reuters, chief executive Anthony Tan said the cuts, the biggest since the start of the pandemic, were not “a shortcut to profitability” but a strategic reorganisation to adapt to the business environment.

    “Change has never been this fast. Technology such as generative AI (artificial intelligence) is evolving at breakneck speed. The cost of capital has gone up, directly impacting the competitive landscape,” Tan said in the letter.

    “We must combine our scale with nimble execution and cost leadership, so that we can sustainably offer even more affordable services and deepen our penetration of the masses.”

    Tan said that even without layoffs, Grab had managed costs and should hit its target for group adjusted EBITDA breakeven this year.

    The “superapp”, founded in 2012, offers deliveries, rides and financial services in eight Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

    Its shares were up 4.7 percent premarket after Tan’s announcement to staff. The stock had climbed as much as 5.6 percent premarket, extending earlier gains on a Bloomberg News report of the cuts.

    The layoffs follow a similar move last year by Indonesian tech firm GoTo, which offers rides, e-commerce and financial services. It has undergone strict cost-cutting, including axing 12% of its workforce in 2022. It laid off a further 600 staff in March.

    Its incoming CEO is planning to head the firm only temporarily and quit after improving profitability, sources told Reuters last week.

    In May, Grab reported a quarterly loss of $250 million but said revenue in the first quarter of this year rose 130.3 percent to $525 million from a year ago.

    In February, it issued an upbeat forecast for full-year revenue for 2023 and brought forward its profitability timeline.

    The US-listed Grab’s last job cuts were in 2020, when 360 people were laid off in response to the impact of the pandemic. The company had 11,934 staff as of the end of 2022, including about 2,000 from its acquisition of a grocery chain last year, its latest annual report said.

    In September last year, it said it had no plans to undertake mass layoffs despite the weak market. In December, Tan told staff the company was freezing most hiring, payrises for senior managers, and cutting travel and expense budgets.

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  • DTS launches platform for Vietnamese technology startups

    DTS launches platform for Vietnamese technology startups

    DTS Digital Transformation Alliance has supported dozens of startups in technology, and is accompanying thousands of businesses through their digital transformation and journey into the Metaverse.

    In the global context of Industry 4.0, digital transformation is the biggest opportunity and challenge for businesses. To carry out digital transformation and develop successful technology schemes, Vietnamese startups and businesses are facing many barriers in terms of mechanisms, policies, financial conditions, and human resources. In this context, DTS is implementing many activities to support SMEs, creating huge thrust to accelerate digital transformation and blockchain technology in Vietnam.

    A launchpad for blockchain technology startups

    DTS has created a series of communication channels to provide accurate and educational information on blockchain technology. Since the establishment of the Blockchain Alliance for Sustainability (BAS) in 2021, up to now, DTS has been the main organizer and partner of the Blockchain Talk show, the Blockchain news column on VnExpress.

    DTS supports nearly 20 startup projects in the blockchain field and connects to nearly 50 investment funds and KOLs (who have many voices, knowledge, and experience in the blockchain field). Currently, DTS can support technology startups in many forms, from providing legal and financial advice, and project development orientation to supporting communication and developing projects to the public, including the international community,

    “There are many startup projects in the blockchain field today, but to succeed in the international market, the project needs to combine many factors: ideas, capital, technology, people, marketing, and communication strategies. With DTS’s current network of domestic and foreign experts and partners, we can complement what you lack in your projects,” said Truong Gia Bao, chairman of DTS.

    DTS – The new ecosystem for projects

    Currently, DTS is working with strategic partners like Vietnam Financial Consultants Association, Ho Chi Minh City Industrial Park Business Association, Trade and Investment Promotion Center of Ho Chi Minh City, and Business Development and Support Center. DTS directly accompanies many businesses in the process of digital transformation and application of new technology solutions.

    DTS solves the problem of leverage and connecting the strengths of partners and member companies to exploit each other’s opportunities and strengths. In line with the business philosophy, DTS aims to work with members and the business community to build a digital transformation ecosystem to serve each unit’s business activities, that is also the business philosophy of DTS.

    In addition, DTS is working with partners and global experts to develop an ecosystem equipping projects and startups with knowledge and experience in organizing and managing projects based on Blockchain technology applications. Entering the digital era – Metaverse requires not only creativity, but also a modern technology application management system, a marketing team that understands the global community and language, along with a technical team with both passion and technical expertise.

    “DTS wishes to become a companion of technology startups and Vietnamese businesses, a bridge between domestic units and investment funds. We provide financial consulting services and optimal operational solutions according to the business model of each unit. DTS is committed to accompanying, advising, and supporting young people to step into the Metaverse by world standards to confidently succeed,” the DTS chairman stated.

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  • Missfresh summonsed by Beijing consumer rights group after complaints

    Missfresh summonsed by Beijing consumer rights group after complaints

    A Beijing consumer rights group said on Tuesday it had asked Missfresh to work on plans to refund its customers and explain how it will rectify its business after receiving a number of complaints, adding to pressures facing the Tencent Holdings and Tiger Global-backed grocery startup.

    The government-backed Beijing Consumer Association said in a statement on its website on Tuesday that a large number of Missfresh customers had complained about the platform’s “abnormal operations”.

    Missfresh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The grocery delivery firm’s troubles come as China’s tech sector grapples with slowing growth amid COVID-19 lockdowns and tightening regulatory oversight.

    The company pioneered one-hour fresh food delivery services in China, a model that is extremely popular with consumers but is labour and capital intensive. It listed on the Nasdaq in June last year, raising $273 million.

    However, the company’s stock has lost 98% of its valuation since and in late July local media reported that it had abruptly laid off hundreds of employees and had not paid salaries, triggering labour arbitration complaints.

    Missfresh has cancelled its one-hour delivery service, changing it to a next-day model, and told local media that it had conducted layoffs due to business restructuring.

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  • Deliveroo invests HK$2m to fund sustainable plastic-free packaging

    Deliveroo invests HK$2m to fund sustainable plastic-free packaging

    Deliveroo HK is taking steps to reduce food packaging waste generated by its restaurant partners. The delivery giant is investing HK$2 million to incentivize a scheme that will encourage restaurants to use plastic-free packaging for their delivery orders. It comes as the government considers a move to ban single-use plastic tableware.

    Investment from Deliveroo HK will allow restaurants to buy suitable food containers at a discounted rate, from zero waste company Sustainable. Independent restaurants and small F&B providers will be offered a 50 percent reduction in packing prices. Large chains will receive a 30 percent discount. Both will be applicable for the first six months of the initiative.

    Deliveroo HK claims to have made sustainability a priority. Its collaboration with Sustainabl. will allow it to promote plastic-free, home-compostable, or recyclable packaging options to restaurant partners. Platform users will be able to search specifically for restaurants that offer eco-packaging solutions, in the future, making early adoption a potentially business-critical decision.

    “With sustainability being one of our priorities here at Deliveroo, we knew it was time to take the crucial step of launching a sustainable packaging scheme that would be of value to our partners in Hong Kong and make an impact to the environment and we’re thrilled to partner alongside Sustainable. to do so,” Andrew Hui, general manager of Deliveroo HK said in a statement.

    “We hope that our eco-minded steps can benefit our restaurant partners as they help create a greener future with us, and by extension, offer the same to their customers. With that said, we understand that integrating sustainable practices will come with new operational costs for our restaurant partners, especially since they are just suffering from the impact of the pandemic. That’s why we are here to provide solutions and financial support, as we leverage our community fund.”

    The HK$2 million subsidy scheme will support locations that want to make a switch to sustainable materials and, potentially, greener delivery methods. It will be the first Hong Kong initiative to be supported by the Deliveroo Global Community Fund. Subsidised packaging solutions will include around 20 products, supplied by Sustainabl., to account for the different needs of various restaurants.

    Sustainabl. is engaged in providing low-carbon, zero-waste packaging supplies that make a F&B circular economy possible. Everything supplied to Deliveroo restaurant partners will either be home compostable or recyclable, with bio-coatings for water resistance. The company uses renewable materials to create its ranges including sugarcane and wheat processing waste, bamboo and recycled paper.

    “At Sustainabl., our vision is to enable businesses and families to access ‘truly’ sustainable packaging products that do not damage the environment,” Richard Oliver, CEO of Sustainabl. said in a statement. “We have created cost-effective, functional solutions to enable F&B vendors and other businesses to stop using single-use plastics and reduce unnecessary waste and their carbon footprint. We are thrilled to partner with Deliveroo on this meaningful initiative and look forward to supplying our zero-waste packaging solutions to Deliveroo restaurant partners. With the new scheme in place, we expect to see a greener and more sustainable F&B industry in Hong Kong in 2022 and beyond.”

    Deliveroo has already witnessed the success of a similar scheme, in France. Launched in 2021, the partnership between the delivery leader and barePack saw 60 restaurants trial reusable packaging supplies, in a bid to garner a circular model. Launched in Paris,  the scheme is expected to roll out to other parts of France and possibly London.

    Tackling the grocery side of things, Dutch startup Pieter Pot bagged €9 million in December last year for its reusable container-powered home delivery service. The company aims to make zero waste shopping as competitive and convenient as regular grocery buying. New investmemt has been raised to expand into wider Europe, including the U.K.

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