JD.com Boss Moans About 'slackers' In His Firm

The founder of mainland e-commerce giant JD.com, Richard Liu, has waded into an ongoing debate about the gruelling overtime work culture in the Chinese tech industry, lamenting that years of growth had increased the number of “slackers” in his firm who are not his “brothers.”

Liu’s comments, which were posted on his personal WeChat feed on Friday, are the latest contribution to a growing discussion about work-life balance in the tech industry as the sector slows after years of breakneck growth.

They also come amid reports this week that the company is in the throes of widespread layoffs. A JD.com spokesman confirmed the authenticity of Liu’s note.

Liu, who started the company that would become JD.com in 1998, in the note spoke about how in the firm’s earliest days he would set his alarm clock to wake him up every two hours to ensure he could offer his customers 24-hour service – a step he said was crucial to JD’s success.

“JD in the last four, five years has not made any eliminations, so the number of staff has expanded rapidly, the number of people giving orders has grown and grown, while the those who are working have fallen,” Liu wrote. “Instead, the number of slackers has rapidly grown!”

“If this carries on, JD will have no hope! And the company will only be heartlessly kicked out of the market! Slackers are not my brothers!” he added

The term he used, which is commonly translated in China as “slackers” can be directly translated as people who drift along aimlessly or waste time.

Three JD employees, who declined to be named as they were not permitted to speak to the media, told Reuters that morale at the company was low after several senior executive departures and layoffs across the firm in recent weeks. One said the cuts also affected vice-president level staff.

Tech website The Information reported this week that JD.com could cut up to 8 percent of its workforce. JD, which had more than 178,000 full-time employees at the end of last year, said the figure was incorrect. (Reuters)