GoBear said in the statement that its approach had been to focus on reducing "non-people costs" first. The company had implemented cost-cutting measures, including halting non-essential projects and reducing fixed costs and software licences, in the past months. But now as GoBear continues to deal with the challenges, it decides to lay off staff in Singapore, Vietnam, Ukraine, & the Philippines. About 22 people will be impacted from a staff of 200.

The affected employees were spread across the operations, product and technology teams. CEO Adrian Chng clarified that the latest decisions were not a reflection of individual contribution.

The retrenched employees will receive post-employment support, such as severance packages according to local laws and regulations. They will also receive resources including job-search tools, profile and curriculum vitae building as well as government support details. 

The CEO apologised to the affected employees in the staff memo, and thanked them for their contribution to GoBear. A wave of lay offs and furloughs came along with the outbreak of COVID-19. As the global economic situation remains challenging and the entire market undergoes tremendous change, companies both small and large continue the struggle to ensure business contuiuity, manage costs, and also keep the employee experience in check.