Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is planning to fire up to 8% of its staff, The Information reported Tuesday, citing investors in the company.
The move is expected to affect teams at the Beijing headquarters as well as delivery staff, the online news site added.
At the end of last year, JD.com had over 178,000 full-time employees.
The company is denying this. In a written statement to KrASIA, JD said that media reports suggesting that 8% of staff are going to be fired are “completely untrue.” The firm says media had exaggerated what represents normal staff turnover into a massive layoff narrative and went on to reiterate that it will open more than 15,000 new positions and that 1,300 fresh graduates will join the company soon.
However, JD did recently threaten to fire employees who are underperforming or overpaid, as KrAsia reported Tuesday.
The company also confirmed in February that it was to fire 10% its high-level executives and on Monday that it has canceled basic salaries for its couriers.
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