Ticket Monster drawing complaints from workers
By Lee Hyo-sik
Ticket Monster (TMON), a struggling e-commerce site, is drawing complaints for its controversial plan to dismiss 170 workers, including new recruits, in the name of improving business efficiency.
The company said Monday that it had sent an email message on July 13 to all 170 employees at a business division dealing with restaurants, hotels and other hospitality-related establishments, asking them to quit through a voluntary retirement program.
TMON, headed by CEO Daniel Shin, said it will downsize the division due to falling sales.
However, employees strongly protest the firm’s decision, arguing that it should take other steps to solve the problem rather than blindly resorting to slashing the number of workers.
Several employees who were asked to apply for the early retirement scheme by July 24 have posted their complaints on Blind app, where employees of a company or people working in the same industry can upload instant messages and communicate anonymously.
One TMON employee wrote that “I have been working really hard for the company over the past few years, setting aside family-related and other personal matters. I am really angry to find out what this company thinks of its workers ― that I am expendable.”
Another worker posted a message, saying, “I don’t understand why TMON has recruited so many entry-level workers, while letting go other more experienced workers. The company seems to behave like an amateur group that closes a shop when it fails to make money instantly.”
However, TMON said it is not forcing any employees to quit, stressing that they can remain on the payroll if they want to.
“It is true that we asked 170 employees to file for early retirement. But this is on a strictly voluntary basis,” a TMON official said. “Some workers have expressed their intent to leave. Those seeking to remain will be transferred to other divisions.”
The e-commerce site reportedly plans to offer a special bonus, in addition to regular severance pay, in accordance with workers’ employment periods. Workers who have been on the payroll for more than five years will likely be given a 17 million won bonus.
TMON has been struggling to make a profit over the past few years amid intensifying competition with its two larger rivals ― Coupang and WeMakePrice.
Last year, Shin formed a consortium with two private equity funds ― Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Anchor Equity Partners ― to acquire a 59 percent stake in the company from U.S.-based e-commerce site Groupon. Groupon still holds the remaining 41 percent.
The company had 195.9 billion won in sales in 2015, up 24 percent from a year earlier. But its operating losses expanded by 24.6 billion won to 141.9 billion won.