GovTech's workforce overhaul to strengthen digital services, says Jasmin Lau

Singapore's Government Technology Agency (GovTech)'s recent layoffs were part of a broader workforce transformation aimed at ensuring the agency can continue delivering high-quality digital services for Singaporeans, according to senior minister of state for digital development and information Jasmin Lau.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday (4 August), Lau said GovTech had anticipated the need to reshape its workforce and had spent several years relying on natural attrition, targeted recruitment and internal retraining to adapt its capabilities. However, those efforts were no longer sufficient to keep pace with rapid technological change, making a broader workforce transformation necessary.

"GovTech must keep up, because if we fall behind, the quality of our digital products and services for our citizens will suffer," she said. The remarks came in response to parliamentary questions on GovTech's recent retrenchments, including whether alternatives had been explored and the rationale behind the exercise. They follow GovTech's decision last month to retrench 93 employees in the first phase of a two-year workforce transformation expected to affect between 7% and 9% of its approximately 3,900 permanent and contract employees. 

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According to Lau, the restructuring supports GovTech's shift from a project-delivery organisation to one focused on continuous product ownership. While the agency's overall workforce is expected to grow over time, its skills mix will evolve to meet changing technology demands.

As part of the transformation, GovTech is increasing hiring across software engineering, product management, design, cybersecurity, platform engineering and data-related roles, while reducing its reliance on project delivery and vendor management positions. Employees will also take on greater end-to-end responsibility for designing, building and continuously improving government digital products and platforms.

Lau added that the success of the transformation will be measured by how effectively affected employees are supported through the transition, whether GovTech builds the capabilities required for its future operating model, and whether it delivers more secure, reliable and effective digital services.

Meanwhile, the 93 affected employees remain on GovTech's payroll during their notice period while completing handovers and seeking new opportunities. Lau said close to 30 companies have offered more than 300 technology-related vacancies, with many of the retrenched employees already progressing through applications and interviews.

"We at GovTech are extremely grateful to them because they have helped us build up our digital products and services over the years. We will continue to give them support for as long as they need, and we intend to monitor all 93 of them, including any future GovTech officers who are retrenched, we intend to monitor their progress through the job placement efforts to make sure that they have a good landing," Lau added. 

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GovTech's restructuring comes amid a broader wave of workforce reshaping across the technology sector as companies realign talent around artificial intelligence and evolving business priorities.

In May, Meta carried out a round of layoffs across the Asia Pacific region, including Singapore, as part of a wider reorganisation that saw approximately 7,000 employees reassigned into AI-focused roles while headcount was reduced in selected functions. At the time, the company said the changes were aimed at reshaping teams around AI products, including agents and applications.

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