Online travel agency Agoda has reportedly cut staff across its global operations, with about 50 roles affected in Singapore.
According to sources cited by The Business Times, the Singapore-headquartered company held a closed-door virtual townhall on Aug 4 for its Customer Experience Group (CEG) teams in Singapore, Shanghai, and Budapest to announce the retrenchments.
Agoda’s management pointed to cost issues and hiring challenges as the reasons behind the layoffs.
A document shared with affected employees, seen by The Business Times, reportedly warned that reporting the layoffs to government agencies or unions, including the Ministry of Manpower and the Tripatriate Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, could result in them “ceasing to be entitled to the severance.”
One source also told the publication that he believed Agoda’s CEG department “existed mainly to satisfy the local workforce quota,” allowing the company to hire foreign talent for IT and engineering roles.
Vulcan Post has reached out to Agoda for comments.
Founded in 2005, Agoda has 38 offices across the globe, employing over 7,000 staff.
The company is part of Booking Holdings, which also operates other travel platforms such as Booking.com, Kayak, and Priceline.
This is not the first time Agoda has made significant cuts. In 2020, about 1,500 employees were laid off globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic and cost-cutting measures.
Booking Holdings also announced in December 2024 that it would be making organisational changes to manage growth in fixed expenses. As part of this move, around 60 employees in the US from Agoda’s B2B unit Rocket Travel were affected.
Also Read: Changi Travel Services cuts 30 employees in second round of layoffs this year
Featured Image Credit: Agoda
