Daraz CEO steps down as company approaches lay offs

Following the downsizing plan that has emerged at Daraz, Pakistan’s largest e-commerce company, Chief Executive Officer Bjarke Mikkelsen has left the organization after eight years of service, according to a report.*

To cut costs company is reportedly planning to lay off employees off from top to bottom management, as it has a plan to so away with at least 25% of its work force.

However, earlier this morning, Bjarke announced his separation from Daraz. Subsequently, James Dong, the CEO of Lazada Group, another subsidiary of Alibaba, will be taking over as the acting CEO of Daraz.

While welcoming Dong, Bejarky expressed his best wishes for the company which is hoping for survival in the E-commerce space and will work on a deeper integration between Daraz and our sister companies.

Bjarke prioritises his family and he wants to dedicate his time to home, which he described as the reason behind leaving the journey of success with Daraz.

He said interim CEO James Dong will work on a deeper integration between Daraz and sister companies Lazada, Trendyol, AliExpress and Alibaba.com.

Profit quoted its sources in Daraz which said Bjarke wa working as a figurehead in Daraz who had implemented the decision of Alibaba. Prior to this, he worked as a banker.

Daraz has become a major name in the E-commerce market of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka since its emergence.

On the other hand, the report also claimed that a Turkish E-commerce company, Trendyol, is going to take over Daraz. Iit is also part of the Alibaba group with approximately 86% owned by the Chinese technology giant.

A privy source said: “Daraz announcing its annual layoffs spree, with plans to let up to 25% of its global workforce go, including 250-400 people from Pakistan from C-level positions.

The decision to lay off the employees was taken at a time when the company planned to cut down its expenses. Cost-cutting strategies have been seen across Alibaba’s entities.

Last year, Daraz’s former CEO announced a global workforce reduction of 11%, citing reasons such as the European conflict, supply chain disruptions, inflation, taxes, and subsidy eliminations. This was aimed at improving profitability, streamlining the organization, and adopting efficiency.

According to the Rest of the World, group level (all countries including Pakistan) losses at Daraz amounted to $143 million in 2022. The losses had increased from $113 million in 2021.