By Sam Boughedda
Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery firm Grab Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:GRAB) is freezing most hiring to cut costs further, according to a report by Reuters on Thursday.
The publication said that in a memo to staff, the Singapore-based company's CEO said they are cutting costs to deal with an uncertain economic backdrop.
The cost reduction measures include a freeze on most hiring, salary freezes for senior managers, and cuts in travel and expense budgets.
Grab, which has been operating for around 10 years and operates in eight Southeast Asian countries, has been trying to prevent losses by closing some of its business units this year and lowering incentive spending.
Following the Reuters report, Goldman Sachs analysts told investors in a note that they "believe that the reported news is overall positive for Grab."
"We believe that company can reach group break-even by 1H24 vs company guidance of 2H24. We make a slight adjustment to our adjusted EBITDA forecast and now expect FY23-24E of -US$297mn/US$435mn (vs. -US$316mn/US$426mn prior) as we lower corporate cost slightly to reflect the latest company's message. Our 12m TP remains at US$5.20," the analysts wrote.