Xendit, a Southeast Asian fintech company that provides payment infrastructure across Indonesia and the Philippines, announced recently that it laid off 5 per cent of its staff in both territories earlier this month.
According to a company press statement that was also published in The Jakarta Post, the layoff was due to the uncertain macroeconomic situation and the fintech firm also needing to restructure its resources.
“Xendit has always tried to prepare the best business plan but the current uncertain macroeconomic situation has forced us to undergo a rightsizing of structure and team resources,” said Tessa Wijaya, chief operating officer and co-founder of Xendit, in a press statement released earlier this week.
“Team rightsizing is a hard but necessary decision to make to optimize our short- and long-term position for the sake of the company’s well-being,” the Xendit CEO explained.
“This decision was based on a progressive and visionary business strategy, and it has been considered thoroughly to ensure that we would be ready to face future challenges and opportunities,” she added.
Tessa said that her company was committed to supporting the laid-off workers by giving them “suitable compensation”, which would be done in accordance with prevailing laws. The firm will also be providing additional benefits to the workers such as the extension of health insurance and psychological assistance.
Potential of the digital economy in Southeast Asia
The fintech enterprise, which has been offering payment gateway services since 2016, believes in the potential of the digital economy in Southeast Asia.
In 2020, barely 4 years since it was first launched in Indonesia, Xendit went to the Philippines to expand its market and tap into Southeast Asia’s growth potential.
“In a world region with one of the youngest populations and highest technology penetration, Xendit can stimulate growth in the digital economy,” Tessa was then quoted as saying. “We have several reasons for expanding overseas, like customer demand, availability of human resources and technology (seeing) how fragmented payment is in Southeast Asia.”
The fintech unicorn acquired a capital injection of US$300 million in a series D funding led by Coatue and Insight Partners in May this year. This was a significant amount for the company because it only managed to attract half as much of it in 2021.
Prior to its decision to layoff some workers, the company was also reported to have been eyeing Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam for further regional expansion
“Xendit has grown considerably in the past year thanks to the contribution from many sides, especially our team, whose dedication has helped Xendit to reach its current position. We truly appreciate all of their efforts in making Xendit what it is now,” Tessa said about the layoffs.