Foodpanda possibly looking to sell its food delivery business in the Philippines
Foodpanda’s parent company could be looking to sell its food delivery business in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia following its latest round of layoffs.
Talking to CNBC, the Singapore-based Foodpanda confirmed that it was undergoing its latest round of layoffs due to the company’s need to be “more agile.”
“Our company priority right now is to become leaner, more efficient and even more agile,” Foodpanda’s Asia Pacific CEO Jakob Sebastian Angele said in a letter to employees sent on Thursday, Sept. 21. “To do this, we need to streamline our operations so we can take on a more structured approach for the coming days.”
Angele, however, did not mention how many employees were being laid off.
Foodpanda previously laid off employees earlier this year in February and also did the same in September of 2022. That said, Foodpanda isn’t alone in having to reduce its headcount, with rival app Grab doing the same earlier this year.
Foodpanda’s layoffs come amidst reports that its parent company, the Berlin-based Delivery Hero, is in talks with potential buyers to sell off its food delivery businesses in Southeast Asia, the Philippines included.
According to German media outlet WirtschaftsWoche, one of the potential buyers is Grab. The Singapore-based company is considered by analysts to be in a stronger position compared to Foodpanda.
“Grab is gaining market share in deliveries from Foodpanda who might even exit a few markets in due course,” stated Sachin Mittal, DBS Bank’s head of telecom, media and technology research, in a Sept. 21 note. “Foodpanda is dis-advantaged due to its stand-alone delivery model.”
Meanwhile, Jonathan Woo, senior research analyst at Phillip Securities Research, called Foodpanda’s potential sale in the region as “typical market consolidation after intense competition, especially as scrutiny over profitability intensifies.” (Read: Why should you switch to digital wallets like GCash and PayMaya, and why you shouldn’t)
Woo also considers Grab to be the most likely buyer due to it being more entrenched compared to rivals like Deliveroo and GoTo.
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