Twelve Cupcakes closes down with about 80 staff affected; union says not given advance notice

SINGAPORE – Home-grown confectionery chain Twelve Cupcakes has ceased operations after being placed under provisional liquidation on Oct 29, according to a notice on the homepage of its website.

It did not elaborate on the reasons for its closure.

The company’s website has since gone offline, while the closure notice was posted on its Instagram page at around 4.20pm on Oct 30.

Although Twelve Cupcakes was a unionised company, it did not provide advance notice to the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU), the National Trades Union Congress said in a statement on Oct 30. The FDAWU is affiliated with NTUC.

The sudden closure affected about 80 employees, including executives, managers and rank-and-file workers, NTUC said.

FDAWU said it will be assisting its members and workers with salary-related claims, and job assistance support.

Twelve Cupcakes operated 20 outlets, according to its now-defunct website. Six outlets that The Straits Times visited were closed, though five still had their furnishings and signage intact.

At its United Square outlet, there were still advertisements for Halloween-themed baked goods displayed.

An employee of a bubble tea shop at Bukit Panjang Plaza told ST that the Twelve Cupcakes branch there was still open on Oct 29.

Meanwhile, at Nex shopping mall, hoarding was already up at the basement outlet.

An employee of a beverage store nearby said the outlet had shuttered a week ago on Oct 23.

Checks by ST showed its Hong Kong business’ website and Instagram account remained operational and seemingly unaffected by the Singapore closure.

According to documents filed with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, the bakery chain has been in the red over the past few years.

Its net loss was $1.23 million for the financial year to March.

This came as revenue shrank 40 per cent to $9.25 million, from $15.32 million in FY2021. Its total assets dropped to $5.02 million from $7.98 million over the same period, while total liabilities declined to $4.14 million from $6.1 million.

The bakery chain was founded by entertainment artiste Jaime Teo and her then husband, former radio DJ Daniel Ong, in 2011.

In December 2016, they sold the company to Kolkata-based Dhunseri Group, which is one of the 10 largest tea companies in India, after announcing their divorce the same month.

In 2020, the pair were charged with underpaying the company’s foreign employees between 2013 and 2016. They each faced 24 charges involving eight employees, and were fined $65,000 each in 2021.

Separately, Twelve Cupcakes under its current management

was fined $119,500 in January 2021

for underpaying seven of its foreign employees, including one worker who, at times, received only about half the wages.

The

company joined the FDAWU

in February 2021, after the majority of its workers voted for the move in a secret ballot administered by the Ministry of Manpower.

In its statement, the FDAWU said it was only informed of Twelve Cupcakes’ closure here on the same day of the company’s announcement to its workers on Oct 29, and added that it “strongly objects to the business owner’s complete lack of prior consultation and advance notice of their decision”.

It criticised the company for the manner in which it executed its decision, which “was not only irresponsible, but also lacked due process”.

“The abrupt termination and insufficient notice are failures on the part of the business owner to consider the human consequences of the closure. Workers are left struggling to secure alternative employment on short notice, resulting in uncertainty regarding their livelihoods and the payments owed to them,” it added.

FDAWU general secretary Sankaradass S. Chami said the union immediately mobilised its team on the ground to support affected members and workers.

He added that the appointed liquidator will collaborate with the union to ensure that benefits under the collective agreement are duly considered as part of the workers’ preferential claims.

In a text message sent to staff on Oct 30 that was seen by ST, the company said that a union representative will be arranging a meeting with all employees. It added that non-union staff would also receive assistance.