Agoda Media Statement – 19 September

Agoda acknowledges recent media reports regarding its recent global restructuring exercise among its customer support teams including Singapore-based employees.

Following these reports, we have held meetings with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union (SISEU) to discuss and address the concerns raised over our severance agreements.

We would like to clarify that the agreement was intended to conclude all matters relating to the employment relationship between Agoda and the individuals. We acknowledge that it is inappropriate for employers to include provisions that discourage or inhibit employees from approaching the authorities for all situations. This runs counter to the spirit of fair and responsible employment practices in Singapore, and Agoda apologizes for any language in our agreements that gave the impression employees could not approach government agencies, statutory bodies or trade unions for additional support and advice. This is their statutory right.

We recognize that this regretfully led to a negative impact on some of our employees, and for that we apologize. We reaffirm that we are fully supportive of the spirit of the tripartite employment practices Singapore is known for.

We are contacting impacted employees to provide further clarification in this regard as well as ensure that they have access to e2i’s support schemes which are run in partnership with NTUC and SISEU. These schemes provide enhanced job matching, training, and upskilling opportunities to help employees transition smoothly to new opportunities.

We empathize deeply with employees who have been impacted by this restructuring and want to reaffirm our commitment to maintaining open communication, upholding fair employment standards, and supporting Singapore’s world-class workforce. We are proud of our deep roots in Singapore, our home market. We will keep investing in Singapore and continue to hire highly skilled jobs particularly in the AI, product and technology space.