Context
The 2021 Tokopedia–Gojek merger created GoTo, a 13,000-person group with overlapping functions, two strong cultures, and two CEOs. The integration plan was structured but optimistic about how much culture difference could be papered over.
Decision
Senior leadership was carved into co-positions to preserve symmetry. Performance frameworks were merged on paper but not in practice — Tokopedia kept its KPI cadence, Gojek kept its OKR rhythm, and individual teams were left to pick. Compensation bands were 'harmonized' which in practice meant some Tokopedia engineers learned they were paid 30% less than Gojek counterparts.
Consequence
Senior product and engineering leaders left through 2022 and 2023, often in clusters. The first wave was leadership; the second was their best ICs following them. By mid-2023 the company had reorganized three times and shed roughly 1,300 roles, many of them held by the people who knew how the original Tokopedia product had been built.
“Merger integration is a talent retention exercise first and an org chart exercise second.”
— the lesson, in one line
Lesson
Merger integration is a talent retention exercise first and an org chart exercise second. If you do not lock in the load-bearing humans with both money and ownership inside the first 90 days, you will spend the next two years watching them leave.
What most retellings miss
The compensation harmonization was the trigger event. Discovery of pay gaps preceded most senior departures by 60–90 days.
The Aire angle
Knowing who the load-bearing humans actually are — not who has the senior title — requires data. Aire surfaces it before you need it.
Sources
HR Asia case studies are editorial analysis of public reporting and on-the-record interviews. They are not legal advice and do not reflect the views of the companies covered.
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The Tokopedia / GoTo case study on HR Asia is essential reading for anyone running an integration in Southeast Asia. Merger integration is a talent retention exercise first and an org chart exercise second. https://hrasia.co/cases/tokopedia-goto-exodus
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