Zhihu denies layoff 'rumors' amid tech job concerns

World
Europe

Chinese online Q&A platform Zhihu on Tuesday said reports of impending mass layoffs were rumors, making it the latest tech company to deny speculation that it was planning to cut hundreds of jobs.

Zhihu, which claimed to have more than 200 million registered users as of August this year, said rumors of 300 staff “layoffs” (20 percent of its total workforce) were not true.

Instead, a representative of the company told thepaper.cn that at the end of each year, Zhihu carries out assessments of staff performance, and “adjusts its personnel structure accordingly”.

In certain departments, Zhihu will actually look to increase its pool of talent, the company said.

The year 2018 has seen impressive growth for the company, with Zhihu adding 80 million new users since the end of last year and raising some 270 million U.S. dollars in a round of financing in August – valuing the platform at almost 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, according to China Daily.

In November, e-commerce giant JD.com was forced to deny online reports that it planned to reduce its staff by 10 percent, along with a 15-percent cut at its Fintech affiliate JD Finance.

At the time, JD.com said the reports were “exaggerations and truth-twisting”, claiming staff turnover was a routine part of every company, based on performance assessments.

Beijing Business Daily reported in May that workers from takeaway company Baidu Waimai would be laid off, after “structural adjustments” following the company's acquisition by ele.me the previous year. Again, Baidu Waimai denied the reports.

A job fair in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, December 1, 2018. /VCG Photo

While the reports and rumors appear to reflect unease in the labor market, China's employment figures this year seem to tell a different story.

In the first 10 months of the year, data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) show that the country created 12 million new jobs in urban areas – 90,000 more than the same period in the previous year.

Data published in October put the urban unemployment rate at 4.9 percent – showing no changes from the previous year.

However, according to China Daily, Zhang Yizhen, vice minister of the MHRSS, told a policy briefing hosted by the State Council Information Office earlier this month that certain companies and sectors were facing challenges over employment.

Zhang's words came as the State Council announced a series of measures to promote stable employment, support company operations, business startups and professional training, and help laid-off workers.

Among the measures was a pledge to refund companies 50 percent of the unemployment insurance they had paid in the previous year, on the condition that they did not lay off workers or keep redundancies to a minimum.