#Asia Citing strategy reboot, foodpanda Hong Kong lays off 18

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The restructuring comes mere months after chief rival Deliveroo entered the market

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Citing the need to streamline activities and improve operational efficiency, Rocket-backed online delivery service foodpanda fired about 18 people Hong Kong last Friday, says a South China Morning Post report from today.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer Alexander Roth told the paper most of the affected employees were from the operational side of the business and not sales. He also told the SCMP a number of employees from the call centre were let go prior to the cuts last week.

“Over the last year, we have continuously optimised our processes and built tech innovations which have automated our order processing, rider and restaurant management systems,” he said.

e27 has reached out to follow-up with foodpanda and will update accordingly.

Also Read: While foodpanda and TinyOwl face crisis, Swiggy gulps US$35M funding

The news is another example of recent struggles for foodpanda. In the month of December, the company fired 330 people in India and completely shut down operations in Vietnam. Last month, Times of India reported the company was desperately trying to sell-off its India operations for between US$10 million to US$15 million and was struggling to find buyers.

foodpanda launched in Hong Kong 18 months ago but recently other brands — notably Deliveroo and Delivery.com — have entered the market. Also, the grocery delivery startup honestbee has a presence in the city.

The market itself is relatively untapped (In January, Roth called the market ‘untouched’), but if any company is going to dominate the city it will have to find a way to succeed despite the fact that going out to eat is an important part of Hong Kong culture.

foodpanda also operates its up-scale delivery service, foodora, in the city.

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