Over 30,000 Employees of Global Startups Laid Off in 2022 (YTD)

Layoffs of employees at start-up companies surged in mid-2022. By early September 2022, 30,367 start-up employees worldwide had been laid off.

According to data from Laysoff.fyi, the number of start-up employee layoffs decreased in the third quarter of 2022. As of September 13, 2022, 1,314 employees of start-up companies lost their jobs. This figure is a drastic decrease from previous months.

Start-up layoffs peaked in June at 17,374 employees. The number then decreased to 16,223 in July and 12,830 in August 2022.

In Indonesia alone, at least seven start-ups confirmed layoffs by early July. These are TaniHub, Zenius, LinkAja, Pahamify, JD.ID, Mobile Premier League (MPL), and Lummo.

Gojek Commissioner Pandu Sjahrir stated that Southeast Asian start-ups are currently facing a "winter." He explained that the energy crisis and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war are impacting companies worldwide. Investors are even hesitant to invest in start-ups.

The valuations of several start-ups have fallen sharply. "If you look at the public market, (the valuation decline) can be as much as 50% to 80%, depending on the country you operate in," said the AC Ventures Founding Partner, as reported by Katadata.co.id.

He believes start-up founders worldwide need to focus on strengthening their businesses and anticipating risks. In start-up terms, this could mean improving the company's "take rate" or shortening the path to profitability. In e-commerce, "take rate" refers to the commission fee charged to consumers.

Tokopedia, for example, added a transaction fee of Rp 1,000 per transaction on August 3. "In market conditions like these, no one will blame you for this," said Pandu.

Furthermore, he advised start-up founders to focus on doubling down on the quality of their teams.