Mired in the massive layoff storm, Didi’s sub-business, Didi Freight will reportedly fire up to 50% of its employees, maintaining operation in merely one to two cities
Didi Freight, the intra-city logistics arm of Didi Global, could lay off over 20% to 50% of its staff, according to a Jiemian News report.
“The original expansion plan, which was scheduled to be implemented last July, has ceased now,” a Didi Freight employee said. “Cities where business is already in place are gradually shutting down or business will shrink to just one to two cities.”
Launched in June 2020, Didi Freight offers intra-city delivery services that put it on a collision course with rivals like Huolala and GogoX.
The layoffs planned by Didi Freight can be traced back to November 2021, with the outsourcing teams in various cities being downsized first.
From the end of December 2021 to the beginning of January this year, due to stalled business of Didi’s group buying arm Chengxin Youxuan, hundreds of employees from Didi Freight were laid off except for a few R&D personnel.
Amid a regulatory crackdown that forced many of the ride-hailing firm’s apps to be taken down, Didi, the subject of a listing-and-delisting fiasco last year, began a company-wide layoff in February 2022.
It reportedly aims to slash 20% of headcounts, focusing only on ride-hailing, vehicle manufacturing, and autonomous driving in the future.
Following a chill in funding and the macroeconomic environment, an increasing number of Chinese tech giants are rumored to plan massive layoffs, including ByteDance, Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent.