Homegrown e-commerce company Bukalapak reduced its workforce in a recent round of layoffs, said an executive on Wednesday.

This marks Bukalapak’s second round of layoffs since 2019, when the company laid off hundreds of its employees with the aim of maintaining the sustainability of its business strategy. The reason behind this current round of layoffs, however, was not disclosed.

“Aligned with the nature of the evolving business, Bukalapak has continuously evaluated our performance to better meet our customers’ needs and optimize our operations,” Bukalapak senior vice president of talent Suryo Sasono said in a statement.

“The evaluations resulted in changes that may impact many areas, including our product, technology, process and talent. Some changes will be more challenging than others, but we are confident that it is necessary to ensure our business’s long-term sustainability,” he added.

While exact figures detailing the size of the workforce reduction were not revealed, Tech in Asia previously reported that the downsizing affected roles within customer service, its Mitra business, as well as the product and engineering services, commencing in late July.

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Bukalapak's president Teddy Oetomo said in a statement on July 31 that the recent financial report showed strong revenue growth and improved profitability in all areas in the first half of 2023. The company is confident it can achieve profitability by the fourth quarter of 2023 following continued improvements in its adjusted EBITDA, he said.

The company saw its revenue jump to Rp 2.18 trillion (US$143.5 million) in the second quarter, marking an almost 30 percent year-over-year growth.

However, it reported nearly Rp 389 billion in net losses for the first half of 2023, according to the company’s financial statement, a turn from the net profit it previously saw in the first quarter this year.

During this period, the firm spent Rp 378.3 billion on salaries, wages and employee benefits, accounting for roughly 55 percent of Bukalapak's overall general and administrative expenditures for the first half of the year. Comparatively, that figure dipped from Rp 456 billion in the same period of last year.

Several tech companies have resorted to layoffs recently, attributing their decisions to various reasons, from uncertain macroeconomic conditions impacting sales to the pursuit of more demanding profitability stages.

Modalku, Ayoconnect, Qoala, Akseleran, and Lamudi, have all reported employee cutbacks.

Read also: Edtech start-ups return to conventional path as revenue fizzles

Investors have become more meticulous in examining tech companies’ performances. Firms are expected to be able to break down their path to profitability step-by-step, as analysts seek to discover when these companies can achieve net profit.

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