Singapore, Jun 21 (IANS): Grab Holdings, Southeast Asia's leading ride-hailing and food delivery app, is slashing 1,000 jobs, about 11 per cent of its workforce.

According to Grab CEO Anthony Tan, the move is to manage costs and remain competitive in a challenging business environment, reports Nikkei Asia.

"I want to be clear that we are not doing this as a shortcut to profitability," CEO Anthony Tan wrote in a memo to employees.

"Over the past couple of years we've been consistent in managing costs tightly in all areas of our operations and on improving platform efficiency," he added.

The company did not reveal which roles are being slashed.

The Singapore-based company had 9,942 employees at the end of 2022.

"While important, our profitability milestone is only a step in a longer journey. Our focus is on what comes after," said Tan.

"We must combine our scale with nimble execution and cost leadership, so that we can sustainably offer even more affordable services and deepen our penetration of the masses," Tan added.

This is Grab's first layoff since 2020, when the company cut about 360 jobs amid the pandemic.

Founded in 2012, Grab began as a ride-hailing service and expanded into food delivery and financial services.