NetEase Denies Rumors of Large-scale Layoffs: Normal Business Adjustments

Regarding the online rumors about “NetEase initiating large-scale layoffs in January,” an insider from NetEase responded: The news is false and it is a normal business adjustment and personnel movement within the company. At the corporate level, we are still actively recruiting high-quality talents.

NetEase revealed that, in order to promote the healthy development of its business, NetEase Media has recently carried out internal resource integration for some business lines. In the future, media will continue to increase investment in content competition and explore new technologies such as AIGC and metaverse to empower content.

According to Jiemian.com’s report on January 19th, NetEase has started layoffs in multiple departments since December. The hardest-hit area is NetEase Media, and the gaming department is also affected to some extent.

According to the report, it was learned that NetEase Media’s large-scale layoffs mainly began in January, involving multiple product lines such as NetEase News, NetEase Culture and Creativity, and NetEase Open Class. This includes various positions related to content, marketing, sales, and product. The report mentioned that the proportion of layoffs varies among different business units and departments, with insiders stating “between 10% and 50%”.

Multiple informed sources revealed that NetEase Media has provided a “N+1” compensation package for the laid-off employees, who will also receive year-end bonuses and 13th-month salary. A former employee disclosed that the layoffs began in December and affected not only ordinary staff at the operational level but also management personnel, albeit with some variation in timing.

NetEase has also started downsizing its other businesses at the beginning of the year. Among them, layoffs in the gaming business mainly target positions such as product, operations, and marketing. The compensation plan is “N+3”. In addition, some project teams have provided employees with two options: layoff or transfer to another position. However, the latter option mostly involves out-of-town positions with limited availability.

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