Agoda Cuts Customer Support Jobs as Employees Criticize Severance Packages

In an effort to streamline its operations, online travel agency Agoda announced on September 17 that it has cut off its customer service representatives in China, Singapore, and Hungary. According to a representative for Agoda, the firm has been phasing out customer service positions in its Shanghai, Singapore, and Budapest offices while adding new positions in other regions.

As it grows its business, this move aims to consolidate Agoda’s customer service teams in places where it has the greatest operational flexibility and expertise. “The layoffs were held ‘unannounced’ during a closed town hall on August 4 and primarily affected customer experience departments,” an anonymous employee from one of the retrenched departments told CNA. The impacted positions, which included regional managers and customer specialists, were a component of Agoda’s multilingual support teams that answered consumer questions.

Agoda Facing Criticism Over Severance Agreement

The business is also under investigation for allegedly having a severance agreement that was presented to Singaporean media and told impacted workers not to report the incident to regulatory bodies, trade unions, or government agencies. Additionally, it barred them from bringing claims, mediation requests, or other legal actions against the business in connection with their employment or departure.

The memo states that workers who violate these conditions would lose their severance benefits and that any money they get must be sent back to Agoda “in full”. The company ‘continues to obey relevant local rules’ and is dedicated to keeping a strong local presence in Singapore, Agoda responded.

 According to a representative for Agoda, affected workers received all the assistance they needed during the changeover, in accordance with industry norms. Employees had the freedom to contact local authorities or look for other legal options during this time. Although it’s yet unknown how many workers were impacted, several reports indicate that Agoda’s Singapore office lost at least 50 jobs.

Agoda Satisfying Local Work Quota

Agoda allegedly told employees in many town halls that they were hired “mainly to satisfy the local workforce quota” so that the company could hire more foreigners in Singapore, according to a CNA investigation. Companies are only able to get a certain number of work visas for foreign workers under Singaporean legislation, which is determined by how many local workers they hired in the previous three months.

The impacted worker informed CNA that they were “disappointed” with Agoda’s choice and that the terms of their employment contract were meant to keep them silent “to avoid causing further bad PR. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in Singapore has declared that it is taking the situation seriously and will look into the purported severance arrangement.

 According to a statement from the ministry, it is improper for employers to impose clauses that prevent or discourage workers from contacting the authorities in any circumstance, as this goes against the principles of ethical and responsible employment practices.