Alibaba’s grocery chain Freshippo has been laying off staff in its purchasing and operations departments since May, Technode reported, citing Chinese media outlet Jiemian. Its online operations unit was also affected.
Freshippo has reportedly been shifting most of its purchasing and operations teams to Shanghai in order to streamline its operations. According to reports, different regions have witnessed varying numbers of job cuts.
In April this year, Freshippo added more couriers to meet the rising demands of residents in Shanghai amid the Covid-19 lockdowns.
The layoffs come amid Freshippo’s plans to raise funds at a proposed valuation of US$10 billion and as Alibaba hopes to introduce the grocery chain as a separate business.
For the January-March quarter, Alibaba posted a 9% rise in revenue to US$32.2 billion, driven by the demand at its Chinese commerce units including Freshippo, Tmall Supermarket, as well as shopping platforms such as Taobao Deals and Taocaicai.
See also: Alibaba’s financial health in 5 charts
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Joy Tirkey
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