120 staff from Inchcape Singapore to be laid off in coming weeks

In “one of the largest downsizing exercises to hit the local motor industry” in Singapore, an estimated 120 staff from Toyota agent Borneo Motors and Suzuki agent Champion Motors will be laid off in the coming weeks, according to a report in The Straits Times.

This might be due to parent company, vehicle distribution giant Inchcape, restructuring its operations here. The cohort represents 12% to 14% of Inchcape's headcount in Singapore.

In addition to moving its finance and IT functions out of Singapore, it has also been reported that 57-year-old Koh Ching Hong, Inchcape's chief executive for South Asia and managing director of Borneo Motors, will also leave his post at the end of next month.

The news came as a surprise to industry observers, given the company’s profitability in Singapore. In fact, Borneo Motors has repeatedly been topping sales charts in recent years according to the report.

Human Resources has reached out to Inchcape for comments, but received no response at the time of publication.

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