Weibo layoffs affected hundreds of people, employees "did not have a year-end bonus and unemployed", the company responded: organizational adjustment

Source of this article: Times Finance Author: Wang Ting

Image source: Visual China

On February 19, Weibo was on the pulse App hot search, in the topic of "Weibo is optimizing employees", some Weibo employees who have been certified by job information said that Weibo is laying off employees in a large area, some employees have also been asked to take the initiative to leave, and employees have been interviewed.

Times Finance learned that the "optimized" employees formed a WeChat group, and there were more than 200 people in the largest group, and the programmer Li Kun (pseudonym) was in the group. He told Times Finance that the performance appraisal at the end of last year was "inexplicably" hit to the lowest level, did not get the year-end award, and was dismissed for it.

"There is no such thing as layoffs." Weibo public relations personnel said in an interview with Times Finance that in order to strengthen the advantages of the field and business focus, the company adjusted some organizations (structure), gave priority to the transfer and placement of the employees involved, and negotiated the termination of labor relations without suitable positions.

However, when Times Finance asked how many employees had been transferred and how many employees were negotiating the termination of labor relations, the above-mentioned person responded that there was no relevant data to provide. In this regard, Li Kun said that department leaders and personnel have never mentioned that they can be transferred and resettled.

"I didn't have time to appeal performance, so I waited for the optimization"

On the Pulse App, a number of Weibo employees said that they received news of layoffs, some probationary periods are about to be dismissed, some are asked by leaders to take the initiative to leave, some people are still deadlocked with personnel, and some have signed a resignation compensation plan.

"Layoffs can be understood, it is good to talk about compensation, and deliberately give performance D by means, which makes people disdainful." A Weibo employee with job information certification posted. It is reported that the performance of the "optimized" employees at the end of 2021 is basically D, and many people are dissatisfied with this.

Li Kun believes that after entering Weibo for more than half a year, he works hard, and sometimes he has to work overtime on weekends when he is in urgent need. At the end of last year, he received an email from all employees, informing him that the year-end bonus was 4 months' salary, but he did not expect that the performance would be D, and there was no penny of the year-end bonus.

Li Kun said that due to the particularity of the post, his performance is difficult to count, and the workload is similar to that of colleagues, but among the dozen people in the department, only his performance is D.

At that time, someone anonymously posted online saying that weibo performance D people would be fired after the Spring Festival, and Li Kun did not take it seriously. He plans to make a performance appeal after a few years, and if the appeal is not successful, he will voluntarily leave after one year of work.

On February 14, Li Kun, who had not yet complained, came to the first wave of "optimization" after entering the company, and the "optimization" objects included themselves, and the leaders and personnel did not mention that they could be transferred and placed, "The leader said that the company-wide layoffs were laid off, and (the layoffs were) D performance. ”

Li Kun signed an agreement to terminate the labor contract, stipulating that the compensation was one month's salary. According to the process, he could only get compensation after leaving, because he did not trust the company and was worried about not getting compensation, he joined the WeChat group formed by the "optimized" employees. He said that there are many such WeChat groups, the largest of which is more than 200 people.

According to the owner of the WeChat group where Li Kun is located, not all employees with D performance at the end of 2021 have been "optimized", and the main object of "optimization" is employees who have been in the company for about a year, and many people with high age are not within the scope of "optimization", but there are also ten-year-old employees who are "optimized".

Weibo advertisers will decline sharply in 2021

In response to the hot search on the Pulse App, Times Finance contacted the Weibo public relations staff, the other side said that there is no layoffs, the company at the beginning of the year to take stock of the business, in order to strengthen the advantages of the field and business focus, some organizations to adjust, in order to promote efficient collaboration and organizational vitality.

She mentioned that in this adjustment, the company gives priority to the transfer and placement of the employees involved, negotiates the termination of the labor relationship in the absence of suitable positions, and carries out economic compensation in accordance with the law.

When Times Finance asked about the number of employees involved in the adjustment, the transfer and placement, and the number of employees who were negotiating to terminate the labor relationship, Weibo public relations personnel said that there was no such data.

In the past two years, weibo's road does not seem to be easy. More than 2 months ago, under the trend of Chinese stocks returning to Hong Kong for listing, Weibo was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and on the day of listing, it broke and fell 7.18%.

The prospectus shows that Weibo's revenue has maintained steady growth for a long time, but the profit is not optimistic. From 2018 to 2020, its net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was $572 million, $495 million and $313 million, respectively. In the first half of 2021, its net profit attributable to shareholders was $131 million, compared to $251 million for the same period in 2020.

At the same time, Weibo advertisers are decreasing. In the three years from 2018 to 2020, the total number of advertisers was 2.9 million, 2.4 million and 1.6 million, respectively. In the first three quarters of 2021, there were only 800,000 Weibo advertisers left, compared with 1.4 million in the same period last year.

Weibo explained in the prospectus that the decline in advertisers is mainly due to the loss of individual users with relatively low advertising budgets. Advertising has long been a major source of income for Weibo. In the first half of 2021, its advertising and marketing services revenue accounted for 86% of total revenue.

Under the fierce market competition, Weibo advertisers are losing, and they are also facing policy risks. From January to November 2021, the Beijing Municipal Internet Information Office imposed 44 disposal penalties on Sina Weibo, with a total of 14.3 million yuan in fines.

At the end of 2021, the person in charge of the Cyberspace Administration of China interviewed the main responsible person and editor-in-chief of Weibo, and in view of the recent repeated occurrence of information prohibited by laws and regulations on Sina Weibo and its account, the circumstances were serious, and in accordance with laws and regulations, ordered it to immediately rectify and seriously deal with the relevant responsible persons.

(Li Kun is a pseudonym in the text)