Grab-Singtel’s GXS bank cuts about 10% of workforce as it moves on from early-stage operations

Loss of 82 jobs part of the group’s transition from building a bank to running the operations: CEO Lai Pei-Si

Digital bank GXS is cutting 82 jobs or about 10 per cent of its workforce across the group.

The exercise is part of the group’s transition from the early growth stages of building a bank to running the operations, said GXS group chief executive Lai Pei-Si in a note to staff.

“The roles that are essential as we move forward and focus on running the bank may be different from our build phase,” said Lai.

These cuts were done after a strategic review to identify roles critical for the next phase. The review was undertaken across subsidiaries GXS Bank in Singapore, GXBank in Malaysia and its tech centre in India.

GXS – set up by Grab and Singtel – had tried to streamline its operations through staff attrition but “the pace of organic reshaping has been slower than expected”, noted Lai.

The roles that have been made redundant were chosen based on the strategic review, and not on an individual’s performance, she added.

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GXS will provide extended medical coverage for three months, career transition support and counselling services. Severance and goodwill payments as well as gardening leave to find a new job will also be extended, subject to prevailing market practices.

The job cuts come after GXS reported net interest income growth to S$30.2 million in the 2024 financial year, from S$14.9 million in FY2023. Losses widened to S$214.3 million from S$208.2 million.

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