More and more tech workers in China are saying goodbye to Big Tech, leaving behind companies like Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent to embark on entrepreneurial ventures of their own.
The seemingly large-scale retirements come amid layoffs and underperforming stocks in the tech sector, with many workers tired of long hours and high-pressure environments, the newspaper reported. South China Morning Post Claim.
The move resonates around the world as layoffs continue and marks a major shift away from previous perceptions that working in the technology industry can bring enormous wealth relative to the amount of work. ing.
Chinese tech workers are leaving big tech companies
of SCMP cites examples of workers representing this shift, such as Zoe Du, who left TikTok's parent company ByteDance in 2020, just as the Chinese government began cracking down on monopolistic practices in the tech sector.
Du noted that China's big tech companies are “not as prosperous as they were a few years ago,” adding that at least 70% of her former colleagues have imitated her resignation and started their own businesses.
Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding, and Tencent Holdings, collectively known as China's “BAT,” had just under 365,000 employees as of the end of 2023, a decrease of approximately 25,000 (6.4%).
Du's new company, founded in 2021, has just eight employees and earned about $1.4 million last year, showing that startups are now making more money than Big Tech.
In addition to increased financial freedom, Du said he also has more flexibility by not having to work long hours for six consecutive days as he used to.
More broadly, layoffs have affected about 80,000 tech workers so far this year (via layoffs.fyi), lower than the 263,000 layoffs for all of 2023. Many of these workers continue to pursue their own businesses, but this figure does not take into account workers who decide to retire.
