At least 7 SingPost executives leave amid company restructuring

SINGAPORE – Five senior executives have announced in recent days that they have left Singapore Post (SingPost), with some telling The Straits Times they were made redundant.

The announcements on LinkedIn on April 1 and 2 follow similar posts in March and another on April 1 from two other executives saying that they had also left.

The departures come as SingPost is 

undergoing restructuring to optimise its operations and corporate functions,

 and amid discussions with the Government to devise a sustainable operating model for the domestic postal business.

The five senior executives – head of strategy and communications Lee Eng Keat, group chief people officer Sehr Ahmed, group chief information officer Noel Singgih, chief sustainability officer Michelle Lee and chief information security officer Audrey Teoh – announced on LinkedIn that they are no longer with the firm.

The head of information technology infrastructure and services, Mr Hendrik Liyuwardi, and deputy vice-president of IT project delivery Kim Voraphol A., had also posted on the social media platform that they had left the firm.

SingPost is restructuring to “right-size” and “strengthen the operating capability of its business units by eliminating duplicate functions”, it said, referring to a Feb 25 statement in response to ST queries on April 1.

That statement said the restructuring, which will take several months, will affect 45 positions, primarily in corporate support units, with a small number from the international business division, whose roles have evolved.

SingPost added that it had “exhausted options” to find alternative positions within the firm for those affected.

The firm was asked how many of the 45 have already been let go, but SingPost said it was “unable to provide further details about the specific number of employees affected at this point”.

The restructuring is “the result of prolonged marco-economic challenges facing the business, including intense competition”, SingPost said in its February statement, adding that the exercise is not correlated with previous incidents and whistleblowing reports.

SingPost in 2024

received whistleblowing reports

that revealed cases of data falsification at the company’s international business unit. Three senior executives – group chief executive Vincent Phang, chief financial officer Vincent Yik and international business unit CEO Yu Li – were subsequently sacked for mishandling the reports, SingPost said. All three have hired lawyers and are contesting that decision.

The departures have come after SingPost sold Freight Management Holdings (FMH), its logistics business in Australia, for A$781.5 million (S$661 million) on March 27.

Given that FMH was one of its most profitable assets, SingPost had said that the company’s business model will require an overhaul to remain sustainable.

SingPost chairman Simon Israel told shareholders at a March 13 extraordinary general meeting to vote on the FMH sale that the restructuring will involve reaching an agreement with the Government on an operating model that ensures the domestic postal network stays profitable.

Some market watchers reckon a potential workable model for SingPost after its non-core assets are sold could involve a government bailout of the loss-making domestic postal business.

SingPost said in a business update on Feb 20 that it recorded an operating loss at the Singapore postal and logistics business for the third quarter due to lower revenue and the rising cost of operating the domestic post office network.

Mr Israel said SingPost will be slashing its cost base, reviewing the international logistics business, renewing its board and hiring a new group CEO.

He added that SingPost is still looking to sell the SingPost Centre (SPC) in Paya Lebar and its freight forwarding business Famous Holdings, both of which are lucrative non-core assets.

SingPost is renovating and installing new sorting equipment at its Tampines e-commerce parcel facility so that it can take on domestic mail and small parcel sorting operations, which are now being carried out at SPC.

“The divestment of (FMH), and in the future SPC and Famous, will create a pool of cash that sets up a future with options,” Mr Israel said.

“There will be the option to reinvest proceeds to build a new future for the group, the option to pay down debt and the option to return proceeds to shareholders. Within these options, the board will have to find the right balance that is in the best interests of shareholders.” 

SingPost shares closed flat at 60 cents on April 2.