China Big Tech: why many overworked employees are quitting to become entrepreneurs amid internet slowdown
- As of the end of 2023, China’s BAT – Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent – had a combined total of 364,477 employees, a drop of nearly 25,000 from a year before
- A search using the term ‘Big Tech departure’ on Douyin returns dozens of results, offering advice on job hunting, e-commerce, career change and management
Zoe Du used to be a typical employee at a Big Tech firm in China, putting in long hours, six days a week. One time, she fainted in the office after weeks of being on the job until 11pm every day.
Du, who lives in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, is one of the tens of thousands of Chinese workers who have left their jobs at the country’s Big Tech firms in recent years, as the industry lost its growth momentum. While tech jobs remain the best-paid positions in the Chinese job market, they are no longer viewed as short cuts to wealth amid lay-offs and the shrinking value of stock options.
China’s internet giants have slashed jobs in recent years, affecting tens of thousands of people. As of the end of 2023, China’s so-called BAT – Baidu, South China Morning Post owner Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings – had 364,477 employees, a drop of nearly 25,000 from a year before, according to their financial disclosures. However, the drop in total staff numbers is not entirely the result of cost cutting, as the companies also underwent significant business shifts.
Du, who goes by the online nickname of Danna, said that China’s Big Tech companies are “less thriving than a few years ago”, adding that at least 70 per cent of her old colleagues have resigned to pursue their own ventures, just as she did.
In 2021 Du founded Ziranliu, which means “natural flow” in English, to help web influencers boost and monetise their online traffic. With only eight employees, the company achieved annual income of 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) last year and succeeded in making more than 150 clients well known on short video platforms.
Du said her working experience with companies, including her most recent employer ByteDance, has proved valuable, enabling her to understand data, web traffic and management.
Wang Sijing, former product manager of search giant Baidu and the now-defunct bike rental start-up Ofo, tells a similar story. Wang said five years of corporate working life provided her with “a more systematic” workstyle that puts data first. She has also developed a more critical eye, after being constantly challenged to do better during her time in the Big Tech working environment.