China gaming phone maker Black Shark lays off hundreds of workers and fails to pay full severance, according to reports
- Black Shark has conducted multiple rounds of lay-offs since August 2022, according to reports
- Some of the laid-off workers have turned to Weibo to vent their anger about reduced severance payments
Black Shark has conducted multiple rounds of lay-offs since August 2022, cutting its workforce from over 1,000 employees to just over 100 currently, tech media outlet China Star Market reported on Wednesday.
The company told affected employees via a text message on Tuesday that it has experienced “tremendous operational difficulties” and has failed to pay severance in full for the time being. Black Shark will continue to find ways to solve its funding problems and pay the remainder of severance payments owed to employees, according to the report, citing the company text message.
Some of the laid-off workers turned to social media page on Weibo, a Twitter-like site, to vent their anger about reduced severance payments. A Tuesday post by Black Shark CEO Luo Yuzhou that says “Good morning” has been flooded with angry comments asking for full payment of the severance package, as promised to employees when they were made redundant.
“Please pay the severance! I need the money for Lunar New Year,” one of the most upvoted comments said.
Some users said they had only received 2,000 yuan (US$296) in compensation on Tuesday. “How can I get through the Lunar New Year with 2,000 yuan in compensation? How can I tell my family about this?” some users asked Luo in the comments section.