Well-known Chinese technology news site Tencent News recently reported that, since the US-China trade war started, China’s economic crisis has impacted the top Chinese Internet giant, the Alibaba Group. Signs are showing that the impact intensified very recently. According to anonymous sources, new hires have been told they could not start their work before the next fiscal year begins in April. Some new hires said the Alibaba Group is reducing headcounts across the board. All business lines are now having hiring freezes. The Group is also cutting business travel funds even for management personnel. For example, now one can only use business class for air travel once every five trips and these trips have to exceed 20 hours per round trip. The Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) is China’s largest online service provider. In 2015, Alibaba’s online trade volume exceeded RMB 3 trillion (US$442 billion), making the Group the largest retailer in the world. Alibaba Group’s financial health is often seen as a barometer of the Chinese economy.
Source: Tencent News, January 18, 2019
http://tech.qq.com/a/20190118/007919.htm