Gabriel Budi Sutrisno · · 1 min readAliExpress Russia lays off 40% of workers amid sanctions risk
AliExpress Russia, the ecommerce joint venture between Alibaba and three Russian firms, has cut 40% of its workforce, media reports say.
The lay offs come as Chinese tech companies scale back operations in Russia amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Alibaba-owned media outlet South China Morning Post, which cited a Russian daily newspaper. Those laid off were reportedly working on non-core business lines that had become expendable amid Western sanctions on Russia.
Photo credit: Alizila
AliExpress Russia is Alibaba’s main entity for exposure to the Russian market. Alibaba launched the company in 2019 with three Russian partners: mobile telecom operator Megafon, internet company VK (formerly known as Mail.ru Group), and sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund.
The joint venture recorded US$3 billion in gross merchandise volume for the 2020-2021 financial year and had considered a public listing, said Reuters.
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The tensions between Russia and Ukraine have had a huge impact on the Chinese tech industry. However, companies have generally refrained from commenting on the matter, partly because the Chinese administration has openly opposed sanctions against Russia.
Editing by Miguel Cordon and April Nayak
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