Carousell’s Laku6 laid off 17% of workforce in January

Laku6, an Indonesian electronics recommerce firm acquired by Carousell in 2022, laid off around 17 per cent of its workforce in January 2024 for “long-term success and sustainability”, a company spokesperson told Tech in Asia.

The Laku6 spokesperson said that the decision was made after evaluating the evolving industry trends and growth trajectory of the company. This review had led the company to “reallocate resources strategically”.

Affected staff will be provided compensation per government regulation, as well as relevant employment assistance, the person added.

In July 2022, Carousell invested US$25 million as part of a deal to acquire Laku6. The deal was also supported by the former’s investor, Heliconia Capital Management, a unit of Temasek Holdings.

The acquisition was Carousell’s effort to further expand its coverage in the market for pre-owned phones and electronics. At the time of the acquisition, Laku6 said it had processed transactions of more than half a million mobile phones and served over 16,000 mobile phone merchants.

With the layoffs, Laku6 joins the growing list of Indonesian companies that have reduced their headcounts recently amid harsh macroeconomic conditions. This includes startups such as Waresix, Xendit and Pitik, which all cut their workforces earlier in 2024.

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Carousell itself laid off 10 per cent of its staff in December 2022, as it aimed for profitability. According to its financial report for 2022, the company’s pre-tax losses widened by 4 per cent year over year as its total expenses were up 57 per cent compared to the previous year.

This year, Carousell made another strategic move with the acquisition of LuxLexicon, a Singapore-based reseller of luxury bags. This took place nearly two months after co-founder Lucas Ngoo stepped down from managing day-to-day operations at the company. Tech in Asia