"What’s Happening at Coupang"... Over 5,000 Apply for Leave in Just One Month

Over 200 Unpaid Leave Applications Per Day at Some Centers Amid Order Decline
Coupang DAU and Payment Volume Drop as Competitors See Order Increases

It has been reported that more than 5,000 employees at Coupang logistics centers, which recently experienced a personal information leak, have applied for unpaid leave within the past month. Amid the so-called 'Talpang' phenomenon, referring to the exodus of users, a decline in order volume has led to a visible trend of workforce adjustments at logistics sites, including the suspension of new hiring and incentive payments.

The view of the Coupang logistics center. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the logistics industry on January 14, Coupang Fulfillment Services (CFS), Coupang’s logistics subsidiary, announced unpaid leave applications for regular and contract employees at major logistics centers nationwide in mid-December last year. Since then, over 5,000 employees have reportedly applied for unpaid leave within about a month.

An industry insider told Yonhap News, "In some logistics centers, there were reports that 200 to 300 people applied for unpaid leave in a single day," adding, "Before the incident, the monthly number of applicants was around 100, but recently, the number has surged." Industry analysts believe that the company’s active guidance on using unpaid leave in response to declining order volumes has contributed to this trend.

Unpaid Leave and Reduced Hiring Follow Order Volume Decline

In fact, CFS has also reduced the scale of new hires. In December last year, the number of new hires decreased by about 1,400 compared to the previous month, with most of the reduction coming from short-term daily workers. The combined total of unpaid leave applicants and the reduction in new hires over the past month amounts to 6,400 people.

Since last month, CFS has also suspended the 'new hire incentive' program at some logistics centers in Incheon, Yangju, Namyangju, and Anseong. The new hire incentive provided additional compensation to those with no prior work history at Coupang logistics centers if they met certain conditions for a set period, encouraging continued employment among daily workers.

Additionally, there have been increasing reports of daily work applications closing early or not being assigned at all. The annual job fairs that Coupang used to hold in major regions such as Gyeonggi Province, Daegu, and Daejeon will reportedly not be held this year.

Coupang Usage Indicators Decline... Competing Platforms Benefit

This trend is also reflected in user metrics. According to app analysis service Mobile Index, Coupang’s daily active users (DAU) stood at 14.8 million at the end of December last year, down 17.7% from the beginning of the month. Payment volume also fell by 7.7% in the third week of December compared to the first week of November.

Meanwhile, after the controversy over Coupang’s personal information leak and its response, competing platforms such as SSG.com and Market Kurly saw their order volumes increase by 10-15%. A representative from an e-commerce company offering dawn delivery stated, "Due to the surge in orders, the logistics division is operating at nearly full capacity."