Temasek-backed Climate Impact X lays off ‘a few’ employees
SINGAPORE-BASED carbon exchange Climate Impact X (CIX) has confirmed that it had laid off “a few” of its employees late last year as part of a restructuring exercise.
The exercise was undertaken to optimise CIX’s operations and position it to meet the evolving needs of the carbon market, said a spokesperson in response to queries from The Business Times.
The company was also transitioning from a phase where it was building its capabilities and platforms to being fully operational. Hence, the capabilities required to support the next phase of the company’s growth trajectory have evolved.
“This means we have had to adjust our internal structure to ensure our team is aligned with the roles and skills necessary to support our business priorities,” added the spokesperson.
“A part of this process involves making the difficult decision to let go of a few team members – a decision we did not take lightly.”
CIX neither revealed the number of staff that were affected nor the roles they were in. Sources said that a few senior employees were laid off towards the last few months of 2023.
The spokesperson added that CIX has created a number of new positions as part of the restructuring exercise and are still hiring for roles that are aligned with its value proposition.
“As is true for all companies, we have to continuously consider and adjust to current market dynamics and adapt our business priorities accordingly. We do retain a strong positive outlook on the long-term viability of carbon markets,” the company said.
However, BT understands that part of the reason for the restructuring were cost-cutting measures for the long term, due to the current fall in demand and prices of many lower-quality carbon credits.
CIX is among the many carbon exchanges affected by the scandal-hit voluntary carbon market.
Several reports over the course of last year have led to growing concerns over whether the credits generated from carbon project developers were from an actual reduction or avoidance of carbon emissions.
As trust in the integrity of the credits being supplied in the market eroded, so did its demand and trading volumes.
Launched at the end of 2021, CIX is a joint venture funded by DBS, Standard Chartered, the Singapore Exchange and GenZero, a decarbonisation-focused investment platform founded by state investor Temasek.
In November last year, Japanese bank Mizuho invested an undisclosed sum of money in CIX to cater to the growing demand for international carbon credits among companies in Japan.
