GovTech lets go of 38 staff members in second round of layoffs

This was the second of three rounds of retrenchments announced in July this year, as GovTech seeks to let go of 7 to 9 per cent of its workforce amid a transition to a new operating model.

A GovTech logo outside its office at Punggol Digital District on Oct 23, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Mak Jia Kee)

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SINGAPORE: The Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) said on Thursday (Oct 22) it has carried out the second phase of its planned layoffs, as it continued efforts to let go of about 300 workers over two years.

A total of 38 staff members will leave GovTech, and the roles affected are primarily those structured around traditional project delivery, said GovTech in response to CNA queries.

"As with the first phase, we have prioritised retaining, retraining and redeploying officers wherever possible," it said.

Following the workforce review, 106 officers will remain in their current roles, while another 106 are eligible for conversion and apprenticeship pathways to transition into new roles, it added.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less "We recognise that these changes are difficult for affected colleagues." It said that it will continue to work with the Public Service Division, Skills and Workforce Development Agency and the Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees to provide support to the affected staff. This includes career coaching, job matching and placement assistance. All affected staff members were informed by the end of Thursday. This was the second of three rounds of retrenchment, as GovTech seeks to let go of 7 to 9 per cent of its workforce amid a transition to a new operating model. The exercise affects staff deployed to 23 government agencies. CNA understands that the final round will be done in mid-2027, and that staff were told about this in a company-wide townhall last month. In the first phase which took place in July this year, 93 officers were retrenched. The figures mean that nearly 170 staff members could be let go in that final round – the highest number of all three phases. The statutory board under the Ministry of Digital Development and Information had about 3,900 permanent and contract staff, supporting the technology needs of more than 50 government agencies. News of GovTech’s retrenchment exercise drew attention as public sector layoffs in Singapore are rare. Before GovTech, the last publicly reported retrenchments in the civil service dated back to 2006 to 2010, when 20 officers left under the Special Resignation Scheme, according to a written parliamentary reply in November 2011 by then-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service Teo Chee Hean. Back in July, GovTech chairman Chng Kai Fong said in a note to staff that the move was “not an AI-driven downsizing exercise” and that the shift began years before the current AI wave. In August, Acting Manpower Minister Jasmin Lau said in parliament that the agency had anticipated the need to reshape its workforce and invested heavily in pilots and apprenticeships to retrain or redeploy staff. However, there were limits to its pace and scale, said the Minister-in-charge of GovTech.

"We recognise that these changes are difficult for affected colleagues."

It said that it will continue to work with the Public Service Division, Skills and Workforce Development Agency and the Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees to provide support to the affected staff.

This includes career coaching, job matching and placement assistance.

All affected staff members were informed by the end of Thursday.

This was the second of three rounds of retrenchment, as GovTech seeks to let go of 7 to 9 per cent of its workforce amid a transition to a new operating model. The exercise affects staff deployed to 23 government agencies.

CNA understands that the final round will be done in mid-2027, and that staff were told about this in a company-wide townhall last month.

In the first phase which took place in July this year, 93 officers were retrenched.

The figures mean that nearly 170 staff members could be let go in that final round – the highest number of all three phases.

The statutory board under the Ministry of Digital Development and Information had about 3,900 permanent and contract staff, supporting the technology needs of more than 50 government agencies.

News of GovTech’s retrenchment exercise drew attention as public sector layoffs in Singapore are rare.

Before GovTech, the last publicly reported retrenchments in the civil service dated back to 2006 to 2010, when 20 officers left under the Special Resignation Scheme, according to a written parliamentary reply in November 2011 by then-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service Teo Chee Hean.

Back in July, GovTech chairman Chng Kai Fong said in a note to staff that the move was “not an AI-driven downsizing exercise” and that the shift began years before the current AI wave.

In August, Acting Manpower Minister Jasmin Lau said in parliament that the agency had anticipated the need to reshape its workforce and invested heavily in pilots and apprenticeships to retrain or redeploy staff. However, there were limits to its pace and scale, said the Minister-in-charge of GovTech.

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这是今年 7 月宣布的三轮裁员中的第二轮，GovTech 计划在向新的运营模式过渡期间裁减 7% 至 9% 的员工。

2026年10月23日，榜鹅数码区政府科技局办公室外的政府科技局标志。（图片：CNA/麦嘉琪）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：新加坡政府科技局（GovTech）周四（10月22日）表示，已完成计划裁员的第二阶段，并继续努力在两年内裁减约300名员工。

政府科技局在回复亚洲新闻台（CNA）的询问时表示，共有38名员工将离开政府科技局，受影响的职位主要集中在传统的项目交付领域。

声明称：“与第一阶段一样，我们优先考虑尽可能地留住、重新培训和重新部署警员。”

经过人员审查，106 名警官将继续担任现有职务，另有 106 名警官有资格通过转岗和学徒途径过渡到新的职位。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小谜题，脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 “我们理解这些变化对受影响的同事来说很困难。” 该公司表示，将继续与公共服务部门、技能和劳动力发展署以及法定机构雇员联合工会合作，为受影响的员工提供支持。这包括职业指导、工作匹配和安置援助。所有受影响的员工都在周四结束前收到了通知。这是三轮裁员中的第二轮，GovTech计划在向新运营模式过渡期间裁减7%至9%的员工。此次裁员影响到23个政府机构的员工。据CNA了解，最后一轮裁员将于2027年中期进行，员工已在上个月的公司全体员工大会上获悉此事。在今年7月进行的第一阶段裁员中，共有93名官员被裁。这意味着在最后一轮裁员中，可能有多达170名员工面临失业——这是三个阶段中裁员人数最多的一轮。隶属于数码发展及新闻部的法定机构——政府科技局（GovTech）拥有约3900名正式和合同制员工，为50多个政府机构提供技术支持。由于新加坡公共部门裁员较为罕见，政府科技局的裁员计划引起了广泛关注。在政府科技局成立之前，上一次公开报道的公务员裁员还要追溯到2006年至2010年，当时有20名官员根据特别辞职计划离职。这一信息来自时任副总理兼公务员事务主管部长张志贤在2011年11月提交的国会书面答复。早在7月，政府科技局主席庄启峰在致员工的信中就表示，此举“并非人工智能驱动的裁员”，而且早在当前人工智能浪潮兴起之前，这项转型就已经开始了。8月，人力部代部长刘碧玲在国会表示，该机构早已预料到需要重组员工队伍，并投入巨资开展试点项目和学徒计划，以重新培训或调配员工。然而，主管政府科技局的部长也指出，这项转型的速度和规模都存在局限性。

“我们理解这些变化会给受影响的同事带来困难。”

声明称，将继续与公共服务部门、技能和劳动力发展署以及法定机构雇员联合工会合作，为受影响的员工提供支持。

这包括职业指导、工作匹配和就业安置协助。

截至周四结束，所有受影响的员工都已收到通知。

这是三轮裁员中的第二轮，GovTech计划在向新运营模式过渡期间裁减7%至9%的员工。此次裁员涉及23个政府机构的员工。

CNA了解到最后一轮选拔将于2027年中期进行，并且上个月公司在一次全员大会上告知了员工这一消息。

在今年7月进行的第一阶段裁员中，共有93名警官被裁减。

这些数字意味着，在最后一轮裁员中，可能有近 170 名员工将被解雇——这是三个阶段中人数最多的。

隶属于数字发展和信息部的法定委员会拥有约 3900 名常驻和合同制员工，为 50 多个政府机构提供技术支持。

由于新加坡公共部门裁员较为罕见，政府科技局的裁员计划引起了广泛关注。

在政府科技局成立之前，公务员队伍中上一次公开报道的裁员可以追溯到 2006 年至 2010 年，当时有 20 名官员根据特别辞职计划离职。这是时任副总理兼公务员事务主管部长张志贤在 2011 年 11 月的一份书面国会答复中提到的。

早在 7 月份，政府科技局主席庄启峰在给员工的一份备忘录中表示，此举“并非人工智能驱动的裁员行动”，而且这一转变早在当前人工智能浪潮到来之前就已经开始。

8月，人力部代部长刘嘉敏在国会表示，该机构已预料到需要重组其员工队伍，并投入巨资开展试点项目和学徒计划，以重新培训或调配员工。然而，主管政府科技局的部长表示，这项工作的速度和规模都有限。

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