Alfred Lee11 Mar, 2020

Distressed groceries delivery startup, Honestbee, has laid off about 80% of their Singapore headcount, according to a report by Straits Times.

Staff have also informed the media that payments of their salaries and CPF contributions for the previous month will be delayed until further funding for the company can be secured.

This comes after Honestbee closed their physical groceries store, Habitat, temporarily from 10th Feb due to the worsening virus situation, resulting in a fall in walk-in traffic and revenues.

Honestbee has closed Habitat since Feb 10th. Photo credit: Straits Times.

This is not the first time the startup has been late in paying its employees, as the company owed over 200 former employees salaries totalling to around SGD $1 million previously.

Those payments were completed at the start of last month, according to a spokesman from the Ministry of Manpower.