By
Darya Rudz
November 1st, 2023
Despite the reported drop in the shares of Pinduoduo, the company is still seeing potential growth in other key aspects of its metrics.
Chinese-based interactive e-commerce company Pinduoduo Inc (NASDAQ: PDD) has been slammed by fresh criticisms over its alleged unfair employees’ welfare. Such a situation had a negative impact on Pinduoduo shares. According to a report by TechCrunch, the new criticisms are were sparked by a video from a former employee named Wang, noting the extreme working hours Pinduoduo staff particularly those in the headquarters are subjected to.
The video which is now viral and seen by over 2 million users on the popular Chinese social media site Weibo, was released following reports that a Pinduoduo staff committed suicide by jumping off a 27th-floor apartment. In order to wade off any coincidence, the death of this employee was preceded by another 21-year-old employee who collapsed to her death on her way home from work on a late-night before New Year.
The series of events had sparked outrage that has notably drawn authorities who are allegedly investigating the working conditions in the Shanghai-based firm. From Wang’s rant in the video, employees work anywhere from 300 to 380 hours a month on a minimum, with possible overtime. This timing is a far stretch from the industry standard that is pegged at 290 hours on the average.
The ongoing criticism has weighed in on the shares of Pinduoduo which drifted and closed Monday’s trading session at a 4.58% loss to $172.49. The hard press media grudge has further escorted Pinduoduo shares to a 0.43% decline in the pre-market with more likely dips ahead. The company’s disregard of the claims by Wang and others through an employee of Pinduoduo who said Wang’s allegation was incorrect, and that the stricken employee had an enterospasm that necessitated hospitalization according to reports by the Motley Fool had done little in preventing the price dips of the company’s shares.
Despite Pinduoduo Shares Dip, Other Metrics Stay Strong
Despite the reported drop in the shares of Pinduoduo following the social media backlash into the company’s unfavorable working conditions, the company is still seeing potential growth in other key aspects of its metrics.
According to the TechCrunch report, Pinduoduo’s mobile app downloads have remained stable since the first reported incident where the first employee collapsed a couple of weeks ago. On occasions during this same time period, Pinduoduo has reportedly seen increased growth in its install rate and according to data analytics provider Jiguang, Pinduoduo has over 650 million of its app installed as of January 8th, 2021.
While many continue to lay criticism on the firm for the unfavorable working conditions which have not been officially affirmed by the authorities, Pinduoduo’s continued success in the short term will be fueled by the availability of cheap essential products it displays on its platform.
Following the woes of Pinduoduo, other Chinese e-commerce platforms are seeing comparative shares growth. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) is up 0.41% in the pre-market while JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ: JD) is up 1.05% in today’s pre-market.