By SHE Xiaochen

Online video streaming site Bilibili is having a mass layoff, staff members close to the matter told Jiemian News, many took it to social media to express their frustration. They said as many as 30 percent of the workforce will be gone.

One of the newly-jobless said that he was offered a standard “N+2” severance package – one month of salary per year worked plus two, plus pay for unused vacation time. The reason given was business adjustments and had nothing to do with performance. Some of his former coworkers are still trying to “negotiate” their year-end bonus, typically three months of salary. 

Bilibili slashed gaming, licensed content, and overseas business in May, but this round was even more brutal involving operations and quality assurance. New hires promised higher salaries than their peers – called “special offers” in HR jargon –have had their offers withdrawn. 

In a response to Jiemian News, Bilibili claimed that there have been no mass layoffs, but “some adjustments” and “organizational changes.” In the Q3 earnings call CEO CHEN Rui said that Bilibili would be “optimizing.” 

Q3 results showed an 11 percent revenue growth. Losses were narrowed by 36 percent year over year but still amounted to 1.7 billion yuan. Chen re-emphasized his priority to cut costs and “focus all resources on core businesses.” 

Bilibili reshuffled executives in the second half of this year, which affected commerce, gaming, operations and sales.