Foodpanda cuts more jobs after 1,000 layoffs in February, now up for sale

Singapore-based food delivery startup Foodpanda confirmed on Friday that it is conducting a new round of layoffs as part of the company’s effort to cut costs and stay competitive. The company did not disclose the number of affected employees or departments.

“Our company priority right now is to become leaner, more efficient, and even more agile. To do this, we need to streamline our operations so we can take on a more structured approach for the coming days,” CNBC reported, citing a letter Jakob Sebastian Angele, APAC CEO of Foodpanda shared with employees.

Foodpanda is currently undergoing its third round of layoffs, following previous job cuts in February and September of the previous year, citing challenges posed by macroeconomic factors, as reported by various media outlets.

In February, the food delivery platform announced the layoff of 1,000 employees, which represents 10% of its total workforce. In a similar vein, both Grab and Deliveroo have also undertaken headcount reductions in the current year.

In a related story, Delivery Hero, the parent company of Foodpanda, also confirmed that it is in talks to sell part of its food delivery business in selected Southeast Asia markets.

“Delivery Hero confirms negotiations with several parties regarding a potential sale of its foodpanda business in selected Southeast Asia markets. Any discussions or plans are in their preliminary stages,” the firm told CNBC in an email.

“While we already implemented some measures earlier this year, there is more we have to do to create the right set-up for our operations,” said Angele. These measures encompass a comprehensive review of the organizational structure, spanning both regional and country teams. Additionally, they involve the realignment of certain functional reporting lines under different leadership for enhanced consistency and focus.

These workforce reductions coincide with discussions within Foodpanda’s parent company, Delivery Hero, regarding the potential sale of a portion of its Southeast Asian food delivery business. While the Berlin-based company has confirmed these preliminary talks with potential buyers, recent reports from German media outlet WirtschaftsWoche suggest that Delivery Hero is contemplating divesting its operations under the Foodpanda brand in several Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Laos.

Delivery Hero has issued a statement confirming the ongoing negotiations with multiple parties regarding the potential sale of its foodpanda business in select Southeast Asian markets. However, the company has stressed that these discussions remain in their preliminary stages and has refrained from specifying the particular markets involved.

Over the years, Delivery Hero has acquired at least 20 companies to maintain its position as the leading food delivery platform in the world. Founded in 2011 by CJ Foo, Claude Ritter, David Bailey, Kolja Hebenstreit, Markus Fuhrmann, Nikita Fahrenholz, Niklas Ostberg, and Tracy Richardson, the Berlin, Germany-based Delivery Hero is a network of online food ordering sites with over 100 restaurant partners, operating in 21 countries and with over 73,000 restaurant partners.

Below is a summary of Delivery Hero acquisitions.

2011: Hungryhouse (UK)
2012: Lieferheld (Germany), OnlinePizza (Sweden), PizzaPortal (Poland), Pizza-Online (Finland)
2014: PedidosYa, Click delivery (Latin America), Pizza.de (Germany), Baedaltong (Korea)
2015: Talabat (MENA), Yemeksepeti (Turkey), e-food (Greece), Damejidlo (Czech Republic), foodora
2016: foodpanda (Asia)
2017: Otlob ( Egypt),Carriage (MENA), Appetito24 (Latin America), Foodfly (Korea)[51]
2018: Hipmenu (Europe), Netcomidas (Bolivia)
2019: Zomato food delivery business (MENA), Woowa (South Korea), DeliveryRD (Dominican Republic)
2020: Instashop (MENA), Glovo (Latin America)