UAE e-commerce platform Noon has cut around 10 per cent of its roughly 3,400-strong workforce to reduce costs and enhance efficiency, according to its founder Mohamed Alabbar.
The layoffs at the Dubai-based e-commerce firm included roles in marketing and advertising and other departments, said Mr Alabbar – the owner of 50 per cent of Noon – in an interview with BNN Bloomberg.
“We’ve been cutting costs and reducing staff for the past year and a half. We started before the big tech companies did but we’re done now.”
The announcement comes as several global tech companies have confirmed the largest rounds of layoffs in their history following a hiring spree during the lockdown which left them with an excess of workers. For example, Amazon, Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. decided to reduce headcounts to cut costs.
Middle Eastern companies including Noon are deemed by bankers as long-term candidates for potential IPOs. However, Mr Alabbar clarified there are no current plans to sell shares in Noon.
Created in 2016, with Mr Alabbar raising $1 billion from backers such as the Public Investment Fund, Noon company had embarked on a vast expansion in a bid to capture a bigger slice of the GCC e-commerce market.
In 2021, Mr Alabbar said investors such as the PIF wanted to contribute $2 billion to help Noon to speed up deliveries.
Mr Alabbar said the company’s “cash burn rate has gone down drastically and our margins are getting better”, thus “may not need to get that $2 billion.”
In February, the company acquired Namshi, a UAE-based shopping platform, to expand its digital ecosystem.
Currently, Noon operates in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, while looking to expand to other Middle Eastern markets.
