Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that open-source giant Red Hat has laid off all members of its China R&D team. The news was confirmed by an email sent to the China team by Red Hat’s CTO and Senior Vice President of Global Engineering.
As part of its “global site selection strategy”, Red Hat will cease engineering activities in China. Affected employees will no longer be responsible for their daily work duties, but their employment will be retained until July 31, 2026, when they will officially terminate their employment. This layoff involves approximately 419 people.
According to Red Hat China’s official website, Red Hat Greater China currently has over 700 employees, including more than 500 in R&D and service teams, with over 300 software developers and researchers at its Beijing R&D center alone. This means that Red Hat’s core R&D capabilities in China have been almost entirely eradicated, and its R&D functions will be transferred to other engineering hubs in the Asia-Pacific region.
Red Hat’s layoffs in China were not accidental. In August 2024, its parent company, IBM, had already decided to lay off most of its R&D and testing staff in China, affecting more than 1,800 people. In March 2025, IBM China Investment Co., Ltd. and all its branches ceased business operations and have completed the deregistration process.
Source: NetEase, April 10, 2026
https://www.163.com/dy/article/KQ65AV9D0511CPVM.html