Agoda lays off 50 staff in S’pore, denies threatening severance if cases reported to MOM or unions

Update: Agoda has refuted allegations that employees were warned against reporting the retrenchments to government agencies or unions. The company stated that impacted employees were “given every support throughout the transition process in line with industry standards.”

Online travel agency Agoda has cut staff across its global operations, with about 50 roles affected in Singapore. The company confirmed on Wednesday (Sep 17) that the reductions involved customer support roles in its offices in Singapore, Hungary, and China.

In response to Vulcan Post‘s queries, a spokesperson from Agoda shared that the layoffs are in line with the company’s “continuous improvement drive to enhance operational efficiency.”

“We have phased out customer support roles in our offices in Budapest, Shanghai, and Singapore while creating new positions in other geographic locations,” said the spokesperson.

“This move is designed to consolidate our customer support teams in areas where we have the strongest operational flexibility and capability as we continue to grow our business.”

According to sources cited by The Business Times, the Singapore-headquartered company held a closed-door virtual townhall on Aug 4 to announce the retrenchments to the impacted teams.

A document shared with affected employees, seen by the publication, reportedly warned that reporting the layoffs to government agencies or unions, including the Ministry of Manpower and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, could result in them “ceasing to be entitled to the severance.”

It also stated that employees were to refrain from bringing any mediation requests, claims, or proceedings on their employment or termination against the company. Breaching the terms would result in severance entitlements being revoked, and any payments already made would need to be repaid to Agoda “in full” and “on demand.”

Agoda, however, has refuted these allegations.

The company’s spokesperson told Vulcan Post that it “remains committed to retaining a strong local presence in Singapore and continues to follow relevant local laws.”

“Impacted employees were given every support throughout the transition process in line with industry standards. During this time employees were free to seek alternative legal options or engage with local authorities if they so wished. We categorically refute the allegation that any warnings were issued.”

The company said it is not able to comment further on individual settlement agreements to respect employee privacy.

One source also told The Business Times that he believed Agoda’s customer support department “existed mainly to satisfy the local workforce quota,” allowing the company to hire foreign talent for IT and engineering roles.

Agoda did not respond to this claim. Vulcan Post has reached out to the company for additional 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