In brief: Yet another Chinese tech giant lays off staff. This time it’s NetEase

• NetEase, China’s second-biggest online games publisher with a growing ecommerce segment, is laying off a significant number of its employees, adding to a list of Chinese tech giants that have shed staff following the Lunar New Year.
• The shakeup fits into a wider pattern of staff cuts to save costs as China’s tech industry copes with a weakening domestic economy.
• Yanxuan, its ecommerce brand, fired 30 to 40 percent of its staff; the agricultural brand Weiyang got a 50 percent cut; the education unit downsized from 300 to 200 employees; and 40 percent of NetEase’s public relations staff was gone.

Source: TechCrunch

Alibaba rival JD is set to lay off 10 percent of its senior executives. Ride-hailing firm Didi may cut up to 20 percent of staff at some departments.

NetEase provides online services focusing on content, community, communications, and ecommerce. It hit US$8.32 billion in revenue and US$1.67 billion in net income in 2017.