SINGAPORE, Oct 17 — Singapore-based mixed martial arts promotion ONE Championship said Thursday it has laid off "a few dozen employees” as part of plans to make the company profitable.

ONE, which has offices in several Asian cities plus Los Angeles, New York, London and Milan, has 201 to 500 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile.

"On Wednesday, ONE Championship made the difficult decision to lay off a few dozen employees as part of its overall strategic plan to bring the company to profitability in the coming months,” a spokesperson said.

"This decision was not made lightly and reflects our ongoing commitment to streamlining operations and focusing on long-term sustainability and growth.”

Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings is among its institutional investors.

ONE chief executive Chatri Sityodtong said in an email to staff that the job cuts were made despite the company being "on the verge of profitability through a combination of record revenues and cost efficiencies”, the Straits Times newspaper reported.

Chatri in the email said the "external global macroeconomic environment remains both challenging and uncertain” and "capital markets continue to demand immediate profitability and profit maximisation”. — AFP