One Championship lays off staff including those from S'pore office

Mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation One Championship has laid off a number of employees – including those from its Singapore headquarters – on Oct 16.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesperson said: “On Wednesday, One Championship made the difficult decision to lay off a few dozen employees as part of its overall strategic plan to bring the company to profitability in the coming months.

“This decision was not made lightly and reflects our ongoing commitment to streamlining operations and focusing on long-term sustainability and growth.”

According to its LinkedIn profile, One has a global staff strength of between 201 and 500. Besides Singapore, it also has offices in Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, London, Shanghai, Milan, Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta and Bengaluru.

Its institutional investors include Temasek Holdings.

While One did not reveal how many of its staff in its Singapore office were let go, an affected party who declined to be named said that over 20 of his colleagues here, across the broadcast, e-sports, finance, marketing and public relations departments, were laid off.

The source said: “It’s been a rumour for a long time that there were going to be layoffs. So I guess we weren’t really surprised it happened. I am surprised it happened to me.

“There have also been rumours that the company is looking to move most of its operations to (the) Philippines or Thailand.

“There is not much else to be said other than it was a great ride. I enjoyed my work. I enjoyed working with my good colleagues.”

Sources told ST that a virtual meeting was held with staff from all its offices on the morning of Oct 16 with One chief executive Chatri Sityodtong announcing the cuts. He had told staff that if they were affected, they would receive a call from their respective department heads, which resulted in a nervy few hours for some.

Chatri later also sent an internal e-mail announcing the layoff of “a few dozen superstar teammates” as “part of the overall strategic plan to bring One to profitability in the coming months”.

He added in the e-mail that was seen by ST: “Please know that your leaders and I weighed this difficult decision with painstaking detail and heartfelt empathy.”

The move, Chatri explained in the e-mail, was made despite the company being “on the verge of profitability through a combination of record revenues and cost efficiencies” as the “external global macroeconomic environment remains both challenging and uncertain” while the “capital markets continue to demand immediate profitability and profit maximisation”.

He added that affected staff will receive severance pay, with their Evolve membership – which grants users access to its Evolve gyms – and corporate health insurance extended until the end of the year. Those who want to exercise their stock options will also be given an extended deadline of 24 months.

News of the layoff will come as a surprise given that in June, Chatri had announced on social media that One will turn profitable and achieve positive cash flow in the third or fourth quarter of 2024.

On Oct 15, Bloomberg, citing its sources, reported that Group One Holdings, the company behind One Championship, had raised at least US$50 million (S$65.5 million) from investors, including Qatar Investment Authority.

One was founded in 2011 and staged its first event in September that year, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Since then, it has held nearly 300 live events in 13 countries and territories across Asia.

On its website, One describes itself as Asia’s largest global sports media platform.

Over the years, it has become the home for some storied MMA names like Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez, and has also produced stars of its own like the Lee siblings Angela and Christian, who have fought under the Singapore flag.