GoTo Indonesia Cuts 1,300 Jobs Amid Global Tech Slowdown

GoTo Group, Indonesia's largest internet company, will cut 1,300 jobs in an effort to reduce expenses and address investor concerns about mounting losses.

About 12% of the workforce will be affected by the cuts, the company said in a statement Friday. The ride-hailing, e-commerce and fintech company will begin notifying employees right away.

As companies across the globe confront the effects of a deteriorating economic climate and a heightened investor focus on profitability, many tech giants are trimming staff or slowing hiring. Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest tech company, cut about 7,000 jobs in the past six months, according to a person familiar with the matter. This is just one example of how the industry is facing tough times ahead.

GoTo, a company formed through a merger of ride-hailing provider Gojek and e-commerce firm Tokopedia, went public in early 2022. However, its shares have lost almost 40% of their value since then. GoTo has now confirmed that it is cutting jobs, as was first reported by Bloomberg News.

The company is looking to cut operating expenses as it prepares to release its quarterly results on November 21. In August, it reported that its adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization had widened to 4.14 trillion rupiah ($264 million) from a pro-forma loss of 3.9 trillion rupiah the year before.

The company said that it needs to speed up its progress in becoming a sustainable and financially independent business that focuses on its core offerings of on-demand, e-commerce, and financial technology services.

GoTo, Sea and Grab Holdings Ltd. have all seen their valuations drop as they navigate an economic slowdown, rising interest rates and accelerating inflation. GoTo executives have said they are trying to balance spending on growth with their effort to reach profitability.