- ‘Scaling back’ in five Asian markets, including Thailand and Indonesia
- What seem to be regional management changes taking place as well
By Susan Cunningham
Digital News Asia | May 22, 2015
BURIED in the depths of Rocket Internet’s recently issued annual report are notes that nine firms associated with its taxi-related companies in Asia were “in transition to a subsidiary of an associate.”
Marie-Luise Klose, Rocket Internet’s Berlin-based communications manager, would only confirm that “Easy Taxi is scaling down its operations in the following markets: Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand.”
The problem with that statement is that Easy Taxi completely shut down operations in Hong Kong, India and Indonesia, as well as in Taiwan, way back in December 2014. Also in December, Easy Taxi scaled back in Malaysia by laying off at least 20 staff members.
Update: Easy Taxi has since confirmed that its Pakistan operations also shut down in December.
Klose did not respond to a request for further clarification as to whether Easy Taxi operations in Thailand and Pakistan would be shutting down as well.
Alexander Lê, who has headed up Easy Taxi Thailand as general manager since February, told Digital News Asia (DNA) that, “We are just optimising operations and everything is running as usual.
“We are operational albeit smaller relative to the past year. … Leaner and more efficient and smarter. A better business model too,” he said via email. MORE
Within two weeks of publication of this story, Rocket shut down all its remaining Easy Taxi operations in Asia.
Susan J Cunningham 