SINGAPORE: Global public relations firm We. Communications has laid off employees in its Singapore office, though the number affected has not been disclosed.
In an e-mail to staff on 25 September, the US-headquartered agency said it had been grappling with rising competition and a growing trend of clients moving PR functions in-house over the past six to 12 months.
This shift had created “significant budget gaps for the agency”.
Confirming the retrenchments on 26 September, a company spokesman told The Straits Times that a “small number of roles” had been cut as part of a business realignment.
However, he declined to specify how many workers were affected, which positions were removed, or whether severance packages were offered.
According to The Business Times, affected staff ranged from entry-level employees to at least one director, with most being relatively new hires of less than two years.
The spokesman added that the company would support displaced workers with “care and respect”, including strong references and transition assistance.
He also noted that We. Communications had followed the responsible retrenchment guidelines outlined by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower.
“We continue to maintain a significant presence in Singapore, and are committed to serving our clients and investing in our long-term future here.”
As of May, the company had about 1,300 employees globally, according to PRWeek.
In June, We. Communications announced that it would lay off 2 per cent of its global workforce due to budget reductions tied to select technology-sector clients.
One of its largest clients, Microsoft, cut about 15,000 jobs earlier in 2025 across two rounds of layoffs.
In Singapore, the affected roles reportedly spanned the creative, digital, PR and communications, operations, special projects, and integrated marketing teams.
Sources who requested anonymity also said that performance reviews for employees not impacted by the layoffs had been paused.
Broader retrenchment trend in Singapore
The cuts at We. Communications add to a series of retrenchments across major firms in Singapore in recent months.
On 17 September, online travel agency Agoda confirmed that it had carried out layoffs in Singapore, Shanghai and Budapest as part of what it described as a “continuous improvement drive to enhance operational efficiency”.
About 50 employees in Singapore were affected.
Earlier in the month, Mediacorp, Singapore’s national media network and a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek, retrenched 93 staff as part of a major restructuring initiative.
The decision, announced on 1 September, affected slightly more than 3 per cent of the company’s total workforce.
In August, Changi Travel Services laid off 30 staff as part of an ongoing restructuring exercise to address changing market conditions.
Logistics provider Ninja Van also cut about 12 per cent of its Singapore workforce.
According to the Ministry of Manpower’s latest labour market report, there were 3,540 retrenchments in the second quarter of 2025, comparable to the 3,590 recorded in the first quarter.
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