The COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of companies in a tough spot, including local streaming service iflix. Reports indicate that the company is planning to lay of a significant number of its employees as part of cost-cutting measures, as a key debt deadline looms near.

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Separate sources indicate that, in total, iflix is laying off between 50 and 65 employees, though the exact number was not disclosed. In a statement, CEO Marc Barnett said that this would “enable the company to endure this indefinite and uncertain period”.

The layoffs will reduce costs for iflix ahead of a public listing, of which the deadline is in July. The company’s planned initial public offering (IPO) on the Australian Securities Exchange will be delayed. But Barnett said that the company aims to breakeven in 2021 with the steps that it has taken.

Times are definitely tough for iflix, which operates in 12 other territories besides Malaysia. For what it’s worth, the streaming service did provide a one-month VIP access to everyone for free last month. This was while Malaysia was still going through its first phase of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

(Source: DealStreetAsia via Nikkei Asian Review, Variety)

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