E-commerce platform Tokopedia is currently facing rumors of employee layoffs (PHK). Speculation about mass layoffs has been circulating since the company was acquired by TikTok, a subsidiary of ByteDance, at the end of 2023.

The news has spread widely on social media, yet Tokopedia’s management and communications team have remained silent. Insider information, however, was obtained by detikFinance, revealing plans for layoffs at the company.

An affected source disclosed that employees often receive news of layoffs suddenly, usually through a town hall invitation sent only one day before the announcement.

“We are never officially informed about layoffs; everything always comes at the last minute via a town hall invite. In fact, we sometimes learn about the timeline from outsiders,” said the source on Monday (August 25, 2025).

Tokopedia management had previously announced layoffs, but the last occurrence was last year. According to the source, employees are aware that further layoffs are likely due to the merger of two companies, which resulted in redundant divisions.

Recent reports indicate that 420 employees have been affected over the past two months—240 in August 2025 and 180 in July 2025. Impacted divisions include information technology (IT), customer service, order fulfillment, and warehouse operations.

The source added that workforce reductions have been occurring quarterly but often go unnoticed by the public due to smaller numbers.

So far, Tokopedia’s management has not provided an official response, despite detikcom’s attempts to confirm the matter.

The Secretary General of the Indonesian E-Commerce Association (idEA), Budi Primawan, stated that organizational adjustments have taken place since the merger with TikTok Shop, but the number of affected employees remains uncertain.

Currently, TikTok holds 75% of Tokopedia’s shares, while GoTo retains only 25% following the sale at the end of 2023.

The reason behind the layoffs is said to be the company’s “overweight” workforce, particularly after integrating with TikTok Shop’s team. Out of approximately 2,500 combined employees, TikTok reportedly sees this number as excessive, prompting workforce reductions.

Some technical teams are even being relocated to mainland China to operate directly under TikTok China’s coordination. The layoff process is expected to continue until the end of 2025 when full system integration is completed, with most remaining Indonesian teams focusing only on business and marketing functions.

Additionally, Tokopedia has officially shut down its “Dilayani Tokopedia” warehouse service as of August 15, 2025. The service, launched in March 2022 and modeled after Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), will no longer operate, and its staff have been laid off.

In January 2024, TikTok completed the acquisition of 75.01% of Tokopedia shares from GoTo in a deal worth US$840 million and pledged to invest more than US$1.5 billion to develop the combined entity. This acquisition allowed TikTok Shop to resume operations in Indonesia after being banned due to regulations prohibiting direct e-commerce transactions via social media platforms.