Singapore's Sea cuts jobs in gaming arm in second round of layoffs

As part of its cost-cutting measures, Sea Limited is cutting staff from its gaming arm. A string of setbacks has forced the company to shift its focus away from growth towards profitability, as it cuts jobs in the second round of layoffs.

Sea Ltd. announced its first major layoffs in June this year in the retail and food sectors in anticipation of the unprecedented market and economic volatility.

The largest tech firm in Southeast Asia plans to reduce headcount at its most profitable division, Garena, as well as at its research and development arm. According to a report by Bloomberg, it will cut about 40 jobs from its live streaming game app Booyah!, including teams responsible for quality control and product management.

Sea Labs, the Singapore-based company's research and development unit, will also halt several experimental projects. About a dozen employees working in areas such as public cloud and blockchain will be laid off, the report added.

The Straits Times reported on Thursday that its e-commerce platform Shopee has revoked a number of job offers for positions at its headquarters in Singapore.

The job losses were initially reported by Reuters. According to the company's most recent annual report, Sea had 67,300 workers as of the end of 2021, more than double the number from the year before, added the report.

Due to increased competition and investor scepticism, the tech giant is now reducing its overseas presence and peripheral businesses in order to shift its focus to boosting profitability rather than international expansion.