Alibaba’s Daraz fires 11% of staff as layoffs rock startups

Alibaba Group Holding’s Daraz Group is cutting 11 per cent of jobs to weather a slump in online commerce, joining a growing roster of tech names retrenching to weather a global downturn.

The Pakistani company, which Alibaba acquired from Rocket Internet in 2018, has quintupled active shoppers to more than 15 million over the past five years.

But in 2022, that pace decelerated after the crisis in Europe and soaring inflation disrupted supply chains and economies, CEO Bjarke Mikkelsen said in a memo to employees posted on its website.

The decision was taken “to prepare the company for the current market reality and to ensure Daraz will thrive in the long term,” he wrote.

“Despite these headwinds, we are still growing our business and we have made headway in our unit economics in the last 12 months.”

Daraz is among a clutch of private firms, including Lazada Group SA and Trendyol in Turkey, that represent Alibaba’s overseas foray.

The Pakistani firm in 2021 said it aimed to double orders annually over the next 5 years, thanks to a dominant position in South Asian markets.

Read: Dell to cut about 6,650 jobs, battered by plunging PC sales