The Dubai-based e-commerce platform, Noon, also known as the Middle East’s version of Amazon, has laid off approximately 10% of its workforce, amounting to 340 of its 3,400 employees. “We’ve been cutting costs and reducing staff for the past year and a half,” said Alabbar on Noon layoffs, who owns 50 percent of the company.
Noon Layoffs Started Way Before the Tech Companies
Alabbar and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF) – the other half owners of Noon – claimed that the layoffs began way before the tech companies started firing their employees and added that they have now completed the process. Alabbar has further mentioned that Noon’s financial situation has improved, with lower cash burn rates and better margins.
Noon was founded in 2016 and raised $1 billion from backers, including the Public Investment Fund, to set up Amazon’s rival firm. Since then, the Middle East shopping giant has been pursuing an expansion strategy to capture a bigger market share of the e-commerce industry in the Gulf region. In 2021, PIF was planning to invest $2 billion in Noon in order to enhance its infrastructure and speed up delivery times.
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