Chinese e-commerce company JD.com denied on Tuesday that the company was planning a substantial round of staff layoffs that could cut as many as 12,000 jobs.
Previous media reports said that JD.com was preparing to cut up to 8 percent of its current staff of more than 150,000, leading to the loss of about 12,000 jobs. The mass layoff would hit the company's warehouse and delivery teams the hardest, as well as jobs at the company's Beijing head office, while the staff of some teams would be reduced by half, the report said.
On Wednesday, JD.com responded to the Global Times about the allegation, saying it was an exaggeration of the company's normal staff rearrangement.
"The recent reports about JD.com's massive layoffs are a total exaggeration. As we have repeatedly stated, this year we aim to fill 15,000 new vacancies, and we are also expecting over 1,300 new college graduates to join us," JD.com told the Global Times.
Recently, the company has been in the spotlight amid controversy over its plans for large-scale layoffs. On Sunday, an email allegedly sent to company staff in the customer service department said that the company will cut staff who "do not keep fighting," "have poor performance" and "are not cost efficient for the company," according to a report by China Fund News on Sunday.
Last week, Lan Ye, executive vice president and chief public affairs officer of JD.com, resigned from his post, making him the third senior manager to leave the office in a month's time, according to a report by sohu.com. In February, JD.com said it will fire 10 percent of its worst-performing senior management staff. There have also been reports that JD.con will cancel the base salary for its massive delivery staff and will only offer performance-based income instead.
