AliExpress Russia said to be laying off employees amid risks of secondary sanctions
- AliExpress Russia, the e-commerce joint venture between Alibaba Group Holding and three Russian partners, is cutting jobs, Vedomosti reported
- Some Chinese tech companies have scaled back operations in Russia and Ukraine, as Western governments impose sanctions against Moscow
AliExpress Russia, the e-commerce joint venture between Alibaba Group Holding and three Russian partners, including Mail.ru Group, has begun a wave of lay-offs, according to a Russian news report, as Chinese tech companies scale back their operations in the country after the invasion of Ukraine.
The job cuts, which started a month ago, affect up to 40 per cent of employees working on business lines that have become expendable amid Western sanctions on Russia, according to Vedomosti, citing an anonymous source.
The newspaper said it interviewed three people for the report, including two people familiar with the situation in the e-commerce market, as well as an employee who was laid off.
AliExpress Russia did not respond to a request for comment sent via email on Thursday. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
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Deng Jinling, a Chinese merchant who lives in the eastern export hub of Yiwu, said she has received almost no orders from Russia and Ukraine in recent months.
The markets used to contribute around 60 per cent of her vacuum flask business, with an annual turnover of around 20 million yuan (US$2.9 million), she said.