The company, in its 2022 fourth quarter (Q4) financial report released recently, said the cut represents 20 percent of its general workforce.

Jumia said it experienced an operating loss of 41 percent year-over-year, reaching $49.8 million in Q4 of 2022; forcing the company to suspend its “logistics-as-a-service offering in a number of geographies”.

The e-commerce firm also discontinued its food delivery operations in Egypt, Ghana and Senegal where “this activity was

sub-scale, resulting in unit economics dilution with limited consumer lifetime value upside”.

Jumia explained that it decided to cease a number of activities as part of its goal of focusing on core areas of the business with attractive returns on investments and clear ecosystem benefits.

The organisation added that it is delivering on its strategy to reduce losses and accelerate progress toward profitability with a major focus on enhanced cost discipline as well as accelerating monetisation.

“Cost reduction is another key priority of our strategy. We are working across the full cost structure to drive efficiencies,” the report reads.

“In the fourth quarter of 2022, we undertook significant headcount reductions, resulting in over 900 position terminations, corresponding to a 20 percent headcount reduction.