Amid reports of layoffs, Alibaba surprised the market by announcing plans to hire 15,000 people in 2023. It is pursuing a six-way split of its operations and preparing for the spinoff of Alibaba Cloud.
Amid the uncertainty in the global jobs market and major job losses over the last few months, Alibaba is taking a turn for the good. Amid reports that the Alibaba Group Holding is planning a fresh round of layoffs, the Chinese tech giant surprised everyone by announcing its plans to hire 15,000 people this year.
Alibaba to Hire New People This Year
On Thursday, May 25, the Chinese e-commerce giant released a statement on the social media platform Weibo stating that its “six major business divisions will need to hire 15,000 new recruits in total”. Additionally, the company said that it plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates. It also referred to the report of layoffs as “rumors” while adding that employee departures are part of the “normal flow”.
Earlier this week, reports emerged that Alibaba’s cloud division has started a round of job cuts that would reduce its staff by nearly 7%. Alibaba is providing severance packages and transfer opportunities within the company to its employees in the fast-growing cloud unit, as it prepares for the unit’s spinoff and future initial public offering.
Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang has announced the restructuring of the company’s cloud division, revealing plans to completely divest control of Alibaba Cloud. Zhang believes that relinquishing control will unlock the potential of the cloud venture, enabling it to experience greater growth as an independent entity without any constraints imposed by Alibaba’s ownership.
Some analysts have valued Alibaba’s Cloud business to be above $30 billion. Amid the explosive popularity of AI platforms like ChatGPT, the cloud business sector seems primed for substantial growth. Also, ChatGPT’s tech relies largely on cloud-based resources to train next-gen artificial intelligence models.
Alibaba Pursues Six-Way Split of Operations
The Chinese e-commerce giant noted that it is pursuing a six-way split of its operations as it plans to adapt to slower growth amid the rising regulatory scrutiny in China’s technology industry. Alibaba Cloud, one of the prominent divisions, has decided to pursue independent fundraising and explore potential listings, along with the Cainiao logistics division and international commerce.
As per reports earlier this month, Cainiao Network Technology is also seeking an IPO by early 2024. The company is looking forward to raising between $1 billion and $2 billion. Cainiao has consistently achieved significant gains. The company, known for its software and data sharing with logistics firms, carriers, and warehouses, generated 42 billion yuan ($6.07 billion) in revenue during the nine months ending in December. This marked a 22% year-on-year increase and accounted for 6% of the Group’s total revenue during that period.
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