Over 120 staff of jobs site Indeed laid off in Singapore as hiring boom cools

US-BASED job search platform Indeed cut over 120 staff in Singapore late Wednesday night (Mar 22) after announcing global layoffs affecting about 2,200 staff, or 15 per cent of its workforce, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

Indeed, which is facing a slowdown as companies scale back on hiring, retrenched workers across several teams in Singapore including software engineering, product development and talent acquisition, said sources familiar with the matter.

Indeed declined to comment. The company has about 290 employees in Singapore, according to LinkedIn.

Indeed is facing a rapidly cooling job market following a hiring boom during the pandemic, chief executive officer Chris Hyams said in a post shared on Indeed’s website on Wednesday.

He added it is increasingly likely that human resources tech revenue will decline in FY2023 and potentially in FY2024.

Rising inflation and interest rates have wrecked the tech sector in recent months, with companies forced to slash staff to conserve cash.

Over 500 tech companies have let go more than 150,000 workers in this year alone, according to online tracker Layoffs.fyi.

Amazon this week said it will shed 9,000 more jobs, adding to the deepest cuts in the company’s history.

In South-east Asia, Internet giants Sea and GoTo embarked on fresh layoffs this month despite improving profitability metrics, underscoring the urgency of tech companies to brace for the winter ahead.

In the US, total job openings in the last quarter were down 3.5 per cent year on year, while sponsored job volumes were down 33 per cent, said Indeed’s Hyams.

The company expects job openings to fall to pre-pandemic levels of about 7.5 million, or even lower over the next two to three years.

“With future job openings at or below pre-pandemic levels, our organisation is simply too big for what lies ahead,” said Hyams, who is taking a 25 per cent cut in base pay.

“We need clarity, focus and urgency to ensure that all of our energy is directed towards investing in our future. We have held out longer than many other companies, but the revenue trends are undeniable.”

Indeed is owned by Japan-headquartered human resources company Recruit Holdings.

Recruit also owns recruitment and jobs review site Glassdoor, which is cutting around 140 staff, or 15 per cent of its team.

Shares of Recruit rose as much as 6.2 per cent on Thursday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, following the announcements. The stock was trading at 3,660 yen as at 3.20 pm Singapore time, up 4.8 per cent.