Hit by layoffs and resignations across the region, Honestbee has announced a temporary suspension of its food and grocery deliveries in the Philippines. According to Tech in Asia, the company retrenched 50-70 people out of its staff of 1,000 last week. Several executives including co-founder Isaac Tay have also left the company.
Last Saturday, Honestbee posted on Facebook saying, “We’ll be right back!”
Our systems are currently unavailable. We’ll be buzzing again soon.
Posted by honestbee on Friday, April 19, 2019
Honestbee also sent an email to customers on April 19, citing the need to pause local operations as they work to bring the business “to a healthy and sustainable level.”
“At Honestbee Philippines, we value the relationship we have built with you. As we work with our headquarters towards bringing the total business to a healthy and sustainable level, we unfortunately need to temporarily pause our local operations until further notice. Thank you for understanding, and we apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. We appreciate your support for Honestbee and choosing to work with us,” the email stated.
A source told Tech in Asia that the Philippines is the Honestbee’s top performing market, followed by Singapore, Taiwan and Japan in any order. Other Honestbee markets are Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia.
On Honestbee Philippines’ Facebook page, several customers expressed their disappointment and asked for updates regarding their orders. An Honestbee representative duly replied credit and debit card payments will be refunded.
Honestbee, which set up shop in the Philippines in April 2017, also said that there are no layoffs in the country, and that the 200-strong local staff will continue to report for work. This could mean that the suspension of operations is only temporary and that the company will be back soon. There are no further details on when Honestbee will resume operations.
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