“Unfortunate but necessary”: S’pore fintech firm MoneyHero Group axes 80 employees to cut costs
“These layoffs are strictly about enhancing MoneyHero’s long-term financial health and profitability. There are no larger issues at play here,” CEO Rohith Murthy said in an e-mail to affected staff.
JimMin
Singapore’s MoneyHero Group, the known operator of homegrown fintech platforms Seedly and SingSaver, has laid off 80 employees to reduce expenses, The Business Times reports.
The company’s website states that it has over 300 staff across five markets, including Singapore. However, the firm has yet to respond to media queries on where the affected employees are located.
In an e-mail to staff sent yesterday (Jul 24) evening, CEO Rohith Murthy described the decision to downsize the “enterprise-wide team” as “unfortunate but necessary.”
“These layoffs are strictly about enhancing MoneyHero’s long-term financial health and profitability. There are no larger issues at play here,” he said in the e-mail, seen by The Business Times.
Murthy added that the company is still in growth mode and boasts “a strong leadership team, dominant market share, a proven strategy, strong cash position and powerful access to capital that no other peer can match”.
“This is simply a required business action taken to address inefficiencies and safeguard our future,” he said.
The Nasdaq-listed firm operates online personal finance platforms recommending financial products in Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
An October 2023 report in The Straits Times stated that the group employed 349 staff across five markets, 99 of them in Singapore.
Rohith Murthy, CEO of MoneyHero Group/ Image Credit: City NomadsMurthy, who became CEO in February, cited strategic realignment as a key reason for the layoffs.
“Our next chapter of growth demands stronger platform efficiencies and more investments in technology, including artificial intelligence and automation,” he said. The company must “reduce redundancy, enhance performance, and eliminate unnecessary layers” to operate more efficiently, he added.
Murthy clarified that affected employees were not chosen based on performance and that the company will support laid-off employees with a “comprehensive” package, which includes the following:
Immediate garden leave OR an ex-gratia payment for a transition period Insurance coverage through December 2024 Professional and mental health counselling Outplacement support Recommendation letters from senior leaders A laptop computerHowever, according to the company’s LinkedIn page, the firm has 33 positions for hire, with eight jobs in Singapore at the time of reporting. Some positions were reposted within four days to two weeks prior.
Struggling since Nasdaq debut, most recent layoffs in 2022
MoneyHero made its debut listing on Nasdaq in October 2023 after merging with Bridgetown Holdings, a special-purpose acquisition company backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s venture firm and Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group.
However, the company has struggled with weak investor sentiment. Its share price has dropped about 52 per cent since its first listing, closing at US$1.62 on Tuesday (July 23).
MoneyHero first launched as a fintech startup in Singapore in 2014 under the name CompareAsia Group, later rebranding as Hyphen Group. According to past media reports, the company also conducted two rounds of layoffs in 2022 to cut costs.
Yeap Ming Feng, former Head of Seedly/ Image Credit: Yeap Ming Feng via LinkedInIt is also worth noting that Yeap Ming Feng, the former Head of Seedly, announced in a LinkedIn post two weeks ago that he would step down from his position, with July 22 as his last day.
Yeap expressed his gratitude in a follow-up post on Facebook on Monday, stating that it was time to “say goodbye to this meaningful seven-and-a-half-year chapter.” and will “hand over the reins to Seedly’s parent’s MoneyHero group.”
From being tasked with growing users on our expense tracking app back in 2016, experiencing two acquisitions with ShopBack in 2018 and MoneyHero Group in 2020, to hitting our first million visitors, launching our own travel insurance, and organizing Singapore’s largest personal finance festival—I am glad to have helped build a platform that enhances our users’ lives every day.
The Seedly story will continue firmly in the safe hands of MoneyHero Group, where it will thrive under a new organizational structure. I will be handing this Facebook Group in the good hands of Vernice Ng and Diviya Tharani whom you all are already very familiar with.
Please continue to contribute and benefit from this community. Cheers!
Yeap Ming Feng, former Head of Seedly in a Facebook PostFeatured Image Credit: Money101 via LinkedIn
