[Epoch Times December 26, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Li Jing comprehensive report) Under the strict supervision of the CCP, China’s Internet industry has entered a cold winter. After layoffs by large Internet companies such as Kuaishou, iQiyi, and Bytedance, Baidu also recently exposed large-scale layoffs. Among them, almost all of the game department was laid off, and the live broadcast business was laid off by 90%.
According to Sina Technology citing several MEG employees and Baidu employees, Baidu’s layoffs are by no means “small-scale”, and many people even bluntly said that “we have never seen such a large-scale layoff since 2018.”
Another employee who was laid off revealed that the layoffs were announced at the all-hands meeting at 11 am on December 22. Almost all more than 300 people in the game department were laid off, and 90% of the live broadcast business was laid off. Even for financial and financial live broadcasts with better commercialization capabilities, some were laid off; education and other businesses also had layoffs, and the specific ratio is unknown. It is not ruled out that other MEG businesses may continue to lay off staff.
In addition, after more than a year of internal rumours that he will leave, Cao Xiaodong, vice president of Baidu, head of the mobile ecological user growth department, and head of interactive entertainment platform, is indeed leaving Baidu.
On the workplace social networking site, Baidu’s circle of colleagues has exploded. A Baidu employee broke the news that more than 1,000 employees were laid off this time. Someone said, “The layoff group is full of 500 people.”
Baidu’s stock price has been cut since its high in February this year
From the perspective of the capital market, Baidu, which resumed its gains last year, has fallen back this year. In the US stock market, Baidu’s stock price has fallen since reaching a high of US$354 at the end of February. The latest share price is only US$144, which has already fallen by more than 57%. The latest market value is 50.2 billion U.S. dollars, or about 320 billion U.S. dollars.
The same goes for Hong Kong stocks. Since its listing in March, the stock price has fallen from a high of HK$256 to the latest HK$139, a drop of over 44%.
It is worth noting that according to Baidu’s third-quarter financial report, Baidu achieved revenue of 31.9 billion yuan in the third quarter, an increase of 13% year-on-year. Under non-GAAP (Non-Gaap), Baidu’s net profit was 5.09 billion yuan. , A year-on-year decrease of 27%. Under the US General Accounting Standards (Gaap), Baidu had a net loss of 16.559 billion yuan.
According to “China Fund News”, Baidu’s investment in Kuaishou is also plummeting. In February of this year, Kuaishou went public in Hong Kong under the aura of “China’s first short video stock” with an issue price of 115 Hong Kong dollars. On February 16, it soared to a historical high of 417.8 Hong Kong dollars. But then Kuaishou’s stock price fluctuated all the way down, and the latest stock price was only 75 Hong Kong dollars, which fell more than 80% from the listing high.
The Internet industry under the strict supervision of the Chinese Communist Party set off a wave of “layoffs”
Baidu is not the first Internet company to be exposed to layoffs. Recently, the leading companies of iQiyi, Kuaishou, ByteDance, Station B, Mogujie, Didi, Mafengwo have all fallen into layoffs.
“Securities Times” e company reported that in early December this year, ByteDance was reported to have laid off an entire talent development center team. However, in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency, ByteDance was also exploded to eliminate those who could not keep up, which led to a wave of layoffs.
Recently, the e-commerce site Mogujie, which focuses on fashionable female consumers, also broke out large-scale layoffs.
According to a report by China Business News, several Maimai users recently broke the news that Mogujie plans to lay off 80% of the technical department staff, and about 30% of the overall staff. After the adjustment, only more than 30 people remain in the technical department of Mogujie. Only two people are left.
The CCP authorities launched an unprecedented “antitrust investigation” against Internet companies last year, and frequently issued fines, warnings, and interviews with Internet companies such as Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba, and Bytedance. After that, the scope of the industry “interviewed” by the authorities expanded.
Recently, the Chinese Communist Party has set off a new round of regulatory storms on Internet platforms and live broadcast anchors.
On December 23, the Zhejiang authorities interviewed and punished the five major platforms of Taobao, Pinduoduo, Kuaishou, JD, Douyin, and 17 related anchors. In addition, the taxation departments of 9 provinces and 1 city, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu, issued “Announcements on Tax Payments” to celebrities and webcasters to pay taxes within a time limit. Violators will be severely punished. Many Internet platforms related to it have been impacted.
Veteran media person Shi Shan recently stated in the self-media program “There is No Mistake” that the Chinese Communist government’s recent desperate fines reflect that the economic situation is extremely severe. In the future, China’s economy will continue to decline, government revenue will continue to decline, and local robbing of money will only increase and become more and more outrageous.
Editor in charge: Lin Yan#
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