A few days ago, Ali’s old Hong Kong English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, was rumored to be “reorganizing its structure” and about 4 percent of its staff would be laid off.
Jack Ma, a wealthy Chinese businessman, has been keeping a very low profile since he was interviewed last year. But Alibaba and Ant Group, which he founded, are still under fire from Communist regulators. A few days ago, Ali’s old Hong Kong English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, was rumored to be “reorganizing its structure” and about 4 percent of its staff would be laid off.
According to Hong Kong media reports, South China Morning Post CEO Kerry Liu sent an email to staff on April 9, saying that the company would reorganize its structure from next Monday (12), and that the functions of technology and product departments would be merged, but the editorial department would not be included in the reorganization for the time being.
The company said it has made every effort to place the affected employees in the new structure, but “unfortunately” it is expected that 4% of the employees will still be laid off.
It is reported that during the epidemic last year, South China Morning Post also implemented cost-cutting measures such as unpaid leave for some employees, pay cuts for management and layoffs in individual departments.
Bloomberg reported last month that the Chinese Communist Party wants Alibaba to sell its media assets, including South Morning, because of its influence on public opinion. A source close to the matter said the buyer of South Morning could be a Chinese entity.
However, the management of South Morning sent an email to its staff to refute the reports, saying that the reports did not provide any evidence, and stressed that Ali’s commitment to South Morning remains unchanged and will continue to support its business goals.
The email also mentioned that South Morning did not cooperate with Xinhua News Agency, as well as media in Zhejiang and Sichuan, and that Ali’s relationship with related organizations would not affect South Morning’s operations.
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