On March 27, the founder of Alibaba Group Jack Ma was spotted in China.
Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba Group (BABA:NYSE) announced on March 28 that the group will reorganize into six business groups and pursue public listings when time is ready.
The six new groups will be: Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Service Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics, Global Digital Commerce Group and Digital Media and Entertainment Group. Each of the groups will be run by its own CEO and board of directors, with the CEOs assuming full responsibility for company performance.
Daniel Zhang, the chief executive denoted in a letter to employees that "this transformation will empower all our businesses to become more agile, enhance decision-making, and enable faster responses to market changes."
This restructuring is also seen as a sign of massive layoffs, as "it is part of a long-running move toward a nimbler organizational structure", said the company.
Following the announcement, Alibaba's ADSs jumped over 14% to USD 98.45 at the close of trading in New York.