Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

According to news in the morning of September 26, Beijing time, Southeast Asian ride-hailing and express service giant Grab does not plan to make large-scale layoffs like some of its competitors, but will recruit selectively and control its ambitions to enter the financial services market.

Alex Hungate, the company's chief operating officer, said Grab had been worried about the global recession earlier this year, so it was "very cautious and wise about hiring", so it did not reach the point of "despair" of a hiring freeze or mass layoffs.

"We have done some specific restructuring around the middle of this year, but I know that some other companies have been making large-scale layoffs, and we don't think we will get there," Hengate said. " This is the first interview for 56-year-old Hengate since joining the Singaporean company in January.

He revealed that the company is recruiting positions in data science, graphics technology and other areas of expertise, but each hiring is a much bigger decision than it used to be. "We need to do a good job in cost saving," he said. the threshold for recruitment must have been raised. "

Grab, which has been established for a decade, is a household name in Southeast Asia, employing about 8800 people at the end of 2021. Like its competitors, the company benefited from a boom in food and beverage distribution services during the pandemic, while ride-hailing services were affected.

With the gradual liberalization of the economy, the demand for food distribution is weakening, and ride services have not yet been fully restored. Recently, the valuations of technology companies have also fallen sharply, and inflation, slowing growth and rising interest rates have all become risks that the company has to face.

Shopee, Southeast Asia's largest e-commerce company, has cut jobs in several countries and closed some overseas operations in recent weeks after its parent company, Sea, reported widening losses and cancelled its annual e-commerce forecast.

Hengate, a veteran in the financial services, logistics and food industries, has extensive experience in these areas, taking the lead in canceling the company's lower-margin lines of business as Grab strives to make a profit.

The company's second-quarter loss narrowed to $572 million from $801 million a year ago. But last month, the company cut its total merchandise forecast for this year, citing a stronger dollar and weaker demand for food distribution.

Last month, Grab said it was closing dozens of so-called Dark Store, distribution centers for grocery purchases, and slowing the promotion of its "cloud kitchen" centralized distribution facility.

"Financial services is another area where we want to tighten our strategic intentions, where our payments, wallets and non-bank financial loans have grown significantly both outside and on the platform," says Mr Hengate. "

The company also restructured its financial technology division this year to focus on more profitable areas after media reported the departure of some senior executives.

"higher profit margins" Grab now focuses on selling loan products and insurance on its platform to merchants and drivers, who often repay from their sources of income on the platform. "as we make this shift, the business portfolio will move towards higher profit margins," says Mr Hungate. "

Grab operates in 480 cities in eight countries, with more than 5 million registered drivers and more than 2 million merchants on its platform.

In 2018, the company attracted global attention when it acquired Uber's Southeast Asian operations after five years of high-cost battles.

Grab is working with partner SingTel to provide banking and other products in key markets, betting on the growth of financial services. The company listed on Nasdaq in December after completing a record $40 billion merger with a shell company.

Hengate said it was "a good time" for the company to re-examine its usage costs because of increasing financial scrutiny and the need to respond to shareholders. "maybe we are lucky that, in a sense, the timing of our listing is just in time," he said. " Grab's $7.7 billion cash liquidity means it is one of the most well-capitalised industry players in Southeast Asia. Grab's share price has fallen about 60% so far this year, giving it a market capitalization of $10.6 billion.

Last month it was reported that Grab's Indonesian rival GoTo was seeking to raise about $1 billion by issuing convertible bonds.

Grab will reveal details of its progress towards profitability and other indicators on its first investor day on Tuesday, Hungate said.

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