Daraz Announces Layoffs After Lazada CEO Assumes Control

Daraz Group, South Asia’s e-commerce marketplace owned by Alibaba Group and operating across Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, has announced company-wide layoffs. The decision comes one month after James Dong, CEO of Lazada, succeeded Bjarke Mikkelsen as acting CEO.

In a press release dated February 27, 2024, Daraz cited the need to adopt a more streamlined and agile structure as the reason for the layoffs.

The company stated that its cost structure had failed to meet financial targets, leading to the difficult decision to “bid farewell to many valued members of the Daraz family.”

However, the press release did not disclose the number of employees departing from the company, including in Nepal. When approached by TechLekh, Daraz Nepal declined to share any specific impacts of the new management and layoff announcement.

Daraz Group was founded in 2015 by Bjarke Mikkelsen. After nearly a decade as the CEO of the company, Mikkelsen stepped down from his position.

Daraz Group’s board of directors appointed James Dong, CEO of Lazada, as the new acting CEO of Daraz on January 24, 2024. Owned by Alibaba Group, Daraz and Lazada are sister companies in South Asia and Southeast Asia, respectively.

Daraz entered Nepal in 2016 after acquiring the e-commerce platform Kaymu. In 2018, Chinese technology company Alibaba Group fully acquired Daraz. In 2022, the e-commerce platform appointed Aanchal Kunwar as the managing director in Nepal, to succeed Lino Ahlering.

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