Alibaba refutes layoff rumours, pledges to hire 15,000 people this year: Report

Earlier this week, a rumour started circulating on social media about Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group planning mass layoffs against the backdrop of a difficult economic environment.

But the company has finally dismissed the claim, with a report on Reuters revealing the company’s plans to hire 15,000 new employees this year. Alibaba’s six departments are reportedly looking to recruit thousands of people, out of which 3,000 will be fresh graduates.

It was earlier rumoured that Alibaba Cloud would lay off 7% of its workforce amid tough circumstances as the company prepares for an IPO.

At Alibaba, talent is moving in and out normally, the company stated in a Weibo post. It has never stopped hiring and cultivating outstanding talent, despite new situations, new opportunities and new developments, the statement further read.

The company employed 235,000 people back in March. But it then decided to split into six units, with each unit getting its own CEO and board of directors.

The units include, Global Digital Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Digital Media and Entertainment Group, Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, and Cainiao Smart Logistics Group.

The past few months have been chaotic in the tech world as scores of companies worldwide have cut tens of thousands of jobs to better address a difficult economic environment and drops in engagement seen post-pandemic.

At a time like this, when a majority of employees are scared for their jobs, Elon Musk has openly supported layoffs. The billionaire, who took over Twitter last year in a whopping $44 billion deal and immediately fired thousands of employees, says the productivity of the company has improved.

He encouraged other firms to do the same to improve their performance.