Shopee cuts teams as Southeast Asia's e-commerce leader pivots toward AI

Shopee, Southeast Asia's largest e-commerce platform, has begun cutting jobs as parent company Sea reorganizes around artificial intelligence. The reductions affect app development, product, and commercialization teams across Singapore and other markets. Some teams were eliminated entirely, while others were reduced by roughly 10% to 15%, according to people familiar with the changes. Shopee contributes more than two-thirds of Sea's revenue, making this more than a small experimental-team adjustment. Sea has also expanded its Google partnership to build an agentic shopping prototype. The company did not provide a total job-cut figure and described staffing decisions as regular operational reviews. The story is a concrete regional example of AI strategy changing workforce design before companies have publicly demonstrated the resulting productivity gains.

Key details: June 10, 2026, Shopee and Sea, App development, product, and commercialization affected, Some teams cut entirely, Other teams reduced about 10% to 15%, Shopee generates more than two-thirds of Sea revenue.

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