SingPost to lay off 45 workers in restructuring move

SINGAPORE: Singapore Post (SingPost) will lay off approximately 45 employees in the coming months as part of an effort to streamline operations and allow its business units to take on more corporate functions, the company announced in a statement.

According to The Straits Times, the job cuts primarily affect positions in corporate support units.

Additionally, a small number of staff from the international business unit will be impacted due to evolving roles.

A SingPost spokesperson stated that the layoffs are a response to prolonged macroeconomic challenges, including increasing competition.

The spokesperson clarified that the restructuring is not linked to previous whistleblowing incidents that led to the dismissal of senior executives.

Restructuring for efficiency

“The initiative aims to strengthen the operating capability of the business units by eliminating duplicate functions and improving agility and efficiency,” the spokesperson said.

SingPost also assured that it had explored alternative positions for affected employees before making the decision.

The company is offering outplacement and counselling services to assist affected staff during this transition.

Additionally, SingPost is working with the Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (UTES), under which the company is unionised, to help displaced workers secure new employment.

Union support and job assistance

UTES general secretary Thuvinder Singh stated that the union was informed of the layoffs in advance and had received assurance that all alternative options, including redeployment, were considered.

He added that affected workers would receive fair compensation packages aligned with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and UTES will provide job-matching and career advisory services to affected employees.

This support includes access to NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and training opportunities through NTUC LearningHub.

Union members can also access funding through the Union Training Assistance Programme to help offset training costs if they require skills upgrading.

More information on career advisory and employment services is available at www.e2i.com.sg.

UTES has also set up direct support channels via email at [email protected] and phone at 6337-1122 during working hours.

Background on previous whistleblowing incident

The restructuring comes months after SingPost dismissed three senior executives in December 2024 following an investigation into a whistleblowing report regarding the falsification of e-commerce shipment data.

The company had terminated its former group CEO Vincent Phang, group CFO Vincent Yik, and the chief executive of the international business unit Li Yu.

All three have stated their intention to contest their dismissals.

The whistleblower’s report alleged that certain delivery status codes were manually altered by the international business unit to avoid contractual penalties to a customer.

An internal investigation found no valid basis for these changes, and SingPost subsequently dismissed three unnamed managers and filed a police report against them.

The senior executives were later found to have been "grossly negligent" in handling the internal investigation into the matter.

Leadership changes at SingPost

Following these dismissals, SingPost appointed Isaac Mah, formerly the CFO of its Australian business, as the new group CFO.

Meanwhile, Gan Heng is currently serving as the acting CEO of the international business unit.

The company has stated that it will announce the appointment of a new group CEO in due course.