Tencent-backed tech firm Sea declares 5 per cent pay rise for most employees, signalling a strong rebound in e-commerce, video gaming
- Workers who joined Sea on or before March 31 will get the salary bump, according to company founder, chairman and chief executive Forrest Li
- The across-the-board pay increase marks a reversal from just a couple of quarters ago, when Sea implemented a companywide salary freeze and lay-offs
The across-the-board pay rise marks a reversal from just a couple of quarters ago, when Li surprised investors with a companywide salary freeze and deep lay-offs.
Sea reported its first-ever quarterly net profit in March, about 14 years after its founding. The company took brutal measures last year to convince investors of its profit-making ability, including cutting thousands of jobs, retreating from major markets and slashing more than US$700 million from its quarterly sales and marketing expenses.
In his 1,300-word missive, sent out about a week before Sea is set to report its next earnings, chairman and chief executive Li addressed head-on the painful struggles the company went through during its turnaround effort.
But the company then lost about US$160 billion of market value since a peak in October 2021 on questions about its moneymaking prospects and a global decline in tech stocks.
“This past year was probably the most difficult period in the history of our company,” Li said, describing “painful” decisions including lay-offs the management had to take to navigate a worsening business environment.
Last year, Sea cut about 3,500 people from its workforce, according to its annual report. In September, the leadership team said they would forgo their salaries and tighten company expense policies until the company reaches self-sufficiency.
“The external environment is still a challenging one,” Li said. “With self-sufficiency, we have a foundation for strong growth once again.”