Alibaba CEO rules out layoffs this year despite China’s slowdown

Wei Zhiyang/Zhejiang Daily Press Group | Visual China Group | Getty Images

CEO of Alibaba Group Daniel Zhang Yong delivers speech at Hangzhou International Expo Centre on May 31, 2018 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China.

Alibaba expects to avoid layoffs this year despite China’s economic slowdown, CEO Daniel Zhang said on Friday.

The comments contradict Chinese media reports and market speculation about job cuts and a pull-back for China’s internet sector amid weakening domestic demand and an prolonged trade dispute with the United States.

“This year we not only won’t layoff employees, we will continue to utilise the resources on our platforms to boost consumption, bringing in more manufacturing and services orders,” Zhang said in a Weibo post.

“When the economy is bad, the biggest advantage for online platforms is to create jobs.”

This week reports circulated in Chinese media that e-commerce site and Alibaba rival JD.com Inc would lay off 10 percent of its senior executives. The company declined to comment directly on the cuts.