Overview
- Layoffs started this week across Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and span major groups including the mobile ecosystem, intelligent cloud and technology platform units.
- Cuts are expected to run through year-end and are seen internally as large-scale, with some teams facing reductions of up to 40%.
- The mobile ecosystem group will bear the heaviest reductions, while AI and cloud positions are largely shielded as spending shifts to artificial intelligence.
- Baidu reported a 7% revenue decline and an 11.23 billion yuan ($1.59 billion) net loss in the third quarter, following an 18% drop in online advertising.
- Affected staff report severance of roughly one month’s pay per year of service plus one to three months’ additional salary, and the company has not responded to requests for comment.