As Alibaba plans break-up, employees worry about its impact on units not focused on e-commerce
- Alibaba wants to restructure its business into six units, one of them being domestic e-commerce, which currently makes most of the group’s revenue
- Some employees say the separation could hinder communication between units, and reduce outsiders’ trust of smaller departments
Alibaba Group Holding’s recent decision to split its US$257 billion business empire into six independently-run units has been largely welcomed by investors, but internally, some employees are worried about the future of less profitable departments and job security.
The Hangzhou-based tech giant last week announced its plan to restructure the firm into half a dozen entities, each reporting to their own CEOs and responsible for their own funding. The units include cloud computing, Chinese commerce, smart logistics, local services, global business, and media and entertainment.
02:17
After long absence from China, Jack Ma makes rare appearance to visit school in Hangzhou
“When the kids are grown, they need to leave home to face the market by themselves,” Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang Yong told employees in a widely-circulated video last week. “I hope there will be multiple listed companies emerging from the Alibaba system, and that they will continue to nurture their own sons and daughters, and cultivate more listed companies.”
Alibaba’s share price shot up in both New York and Hong Kong after the announcement of the restructuring plan.
Some employees, however, appear less hopeful.
One Alibaba staff member, whose work is unrelated to e-commerce and who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said some colleagues have started to fret over how potential clients and business partners would view the change.
