Alibaba to make significant job cuts amid IPO plans

Hong Kong, May 24

Chinese internet giant Alibaba is making significant job cuts, reportedly around 7 per cent of its workforce, as it plans separate IPOs for its various business groups.

In March, Alibaba Group planned to split into six business groups and launch separate public listings, triggering mass layoff, according to a Nikkei Asia report.

Now, Alibaba has reportedly begun informing affected staff in its Cloud division about layoffs.

The company is offering severance packages to the impacted employees and also plans to transfer some workers to other parts of its business verticals.

Alibaba employed over 235,000 people (as of March).

Last week, Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang had detailed the restructuring of its Cloud division.

Earlier, the Chinese tech giant said it was planning to split the company into six business units, and each unit will explore fundraising or IPOs (initial public offerings).

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

Each business unit will be led by its own CEO and board of directors.

In August last year, Alibaba bid goodbye to nearly 10,000 employees in an effort to cut expenses amid sluggish sales and slowing economy in the country.