H&M Singapore reportedly hit by layoffs as SEA HQ moves to Malaysia

Fashion retailer H&M is reportedly restructuring its Asia Pacific operations, with its Southeast Asia regional headquarters set to move from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.

According to reports, 78 roles will be removed from a regional headcount of 256 under the former East Asia region, with most of the redundancies expected to affect employees based in Singapore.

The restructuring will also see about 30% of its regional support workforce cut, according to a report by Malay Mail. Staff were reportedly informed of the changes on 11 May.

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In response to queries from The Straits Times, H&M Singapore said it is providing support to employees affected by organisational changes, though it did not share further details. The company also declined to disclose the number of workers impacted or the roles involved.

H&M reportedly said it regularly reviews its ways of working as part of efforts to meet changing customer expectations and keep the organisation flexible, efficient and agile. It added that Singapore remains an important market, and that it will continue to maintain an office in the city-state.

In addition, the move is reportedly part of a wider change to H&M’s commercial operating model, which will replace existing regional layers with four new “continents”. Under the new structure, the newly formed continent Asia Pacific will be headquartered in Shanghai and oversee five sales markets.

As part of the reorganisation, the SEA sales market head office will be based in Kuala Lumpur, while the Northeast Asia sales market will move to Tokyo. Other markets under the APAC structure include India, with a hub in Bangalore; Australia and New Zealand, with a hub in Sydney; and Greater China, which will share the Shanghai hub with the APAC continent headquarters.

Support functions in Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City are reportedly being offshored, while offices in Seoul and Manila are being downsized. Store-level operations and retail teams are not expected to be affected.

Employees affected by the restructuring will reportedly go through a calibration process by 21 May 2026. Staff have been asked to complete an assessment survey and nominate two preferred roles, with placements to be determined based on their 2025 contribution ratings and recent disciplinary records, rather than through standard CV submissions.

Interviews and evaluations are expected to take place between 25 May and 19 June, with staff to be informed of their final outcomes by mid-June. The new structure and staff relocations are reportedly expected to take effect by 1 July.

For employees whose roles are removed or reduced, H&M will reportedly offer mutual separation agreements if no alternative role can be found within the new organisation. Details of the separation packages will be shared at a later date.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to H&M for more information.

H&M’s restructuring comes amid other recent operational shifts involving Singapore-based workforces. In March, Singapore’s homegrown beer icon Tiger Beer said it would end large-scale brewing at its Tuas brewery by the end of 2027, marking the close of 95 years of local production.

Following the closure, approximately 130 roles may be affected, with severance, reskilling and career support to be coordinated with the Food and Drink Allied Workers Union and NTUC’s e2i. Moving forward, HEINEKEN’s Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore will shift to an import-based supply model, with production moving to regional hubs in Malaysia and Vietnam.

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