‘They moved everything overseas’: Local employee, now the only one left in SG, fears being laid off – Singapore News
SINGAPORE: A Singapore-based employee has shared online that they are now the "only survivor" of their regional team after a series of layoffs and offshoring decisions wiped out the rest of the local office, raising concerns that their own role may be at risk next.
"I am the only one left in Singapore after layoffs," they wrote on the r/singaporejobs forum on Tuesday (April 20).
"The rest of the department has been offshored. They have kept me, as I am still leading some important projects in the region. Now I am not working with anyone in the local office anymore. I am leading a team across China and SEA while reporting to a boss in India."
They added that they previously worked as a senior regional associate under a regional manager. However, after the final round of layoffs, they were effectively made the acting regional manager overseeing teams in other countries, even though their salary remained at the same level.
Looking back, the employee described the downsizing as a gradual process rather than a sudden shift. At its peak, their department had around 40 staff based in Singapore. During the COVID-19 period, the team worked from home, and operations ran smoothly.
However, things began to change when the company carried out its first major round of layoffs, cutting about 10 employees and replacing those roles with a team based in China.
Although those who remained initially believed the cuts were a one-off move, the pattern continued.
"Those who survived were a bit scared, but they thought it was just a one-time thing. Slowly, slowly, when some people here resigned, they didn't backfill with local headcount but moved the headcount to China. Then came the final blow. They sacked the entire team except me and let me oversee those in China."
"Work that doesn't require the Chinese language is also offshored to a large team in India. It all felt like a slow death. Once MNCs realise the same work can be done in a cheaper place, SG folks will be chopped."
Ending their post, they asked the online community, "Has anyone been in a similar situation before?"
In the discussion thread, one Singaporean Redditor commented that the company will probably dismiss them too once their current projects are finished.
The post author responded: "Yeah, I'm super scared now."
Another Redditor advised, "Start looking for another job. The same thing happened to me previously. After a visit from the owners overseas, almost everyone in the office was laid off except for the new director and me. The rest were all let go. I told my old boss before he left that I would be tendering my resignation as well because I knew the headache it would be after the office manpower was more than halved; most of the workload would come to me for the same paycheck."
A third shared, "Same situation in my company. Most departments were left with only 1 or at most 2 to hand over the entire team task to the overseas team. It is kind of horrible to be in this situation in a way because everyone else gets their retrenchment package while the only survivor(s) have to take in all the remaining tasks and responsibilities and then be the bridge, which they might burn when time comes."
A fourth added, "Firstly, don't be afraid. Get your finances in order. Say no to the unnecessary big expenses for at least a year. Remember, your priorities are your own finances and your own well-being."
"Secondly, upskill and start applying right away. As a retrenched engineer for almost two months, this was something that I didn't do and am regretting my slow progress right now."
In other news, a man has sparked quite the online debate after sharing that his girlfriend turned down his marriage proposal when he presented what he thought was a sensible, budget-friendly wedding plan: "a simple ROM (Registration of Marriages), no wedding gown, no banquet, and no pricey ring."
On Monday (April 20), he wrote on a local forum that he had laid everything out clearly from the start. His idea was to keep things minimal with just the ROM, followed by a small gesture of hosting her immediate family at a single buffet table at the Shangri-La hotel.
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