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Baidu’s nation family members head Qu Jing has left the corporate then posting a line of social media movies by which she demeaned workforce, sparking a backlash over place of job practices in China’s tech sector.
The movies featured Qu not easy lengthy hours from her staff participants and prayer to the corporate. They have been supposed to show her workforce how you can usefulness their private social media accounts to boost the profile of Baidu however rather engulfed the Chinese language seek engine immense in controversy.
Qu has left the corporate as of Thursday night time, mentioned two community ordinary with the topic. Baidu didn’t in an instant reply to a request for remark. Qu may just now not be reached for remark.
On Thursday, she apologised on social media for her movies inflicting “external misunderstandings about Baidu’s values and culture”.
In probably the most movies, which unfold broadly on Chinese language social media, Qu mentioned she didn’t assist about how lengthy hours and intensive trade proceed would have an effect on the non-public lives of her workforce. “I’m not your mum,” she mentioned. “I only care about results.”
Her feedback revived issues about operating situations at Chinese language tech teams. The lengthy hours regularly anticipated of tech staff are referred to as “996”, that means they begin paintings at 9am, let fall at 9pm and paintings six days a hour.
“People in China have started to rethink the relationship of employee and employer and are questioning why they get little reward for devoting all of their time and energy to work,” mentioned Ivy Yang, a company communications skilled and founding father of Wavelet Technique.
Qu’s feedback have been considered as a window into how the supremacy echelons of China’s company international thought of their staff, mentioned Yang. “It provoked an emotional reaction,” she mentioned.
Qu joined Baidu from Chinese language tech staff Huawei and used to be alike to Melissa Ma, Baidu founder Robin Li’s spouse, in keeping with two community ordinary with the topic. Ma is concerned with recruitment and HR on the corporate.
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Chinese language media reported Li had held a miniature assembly with staff about Qu’s feedback on Thursday afternoon and mentioned Baidu’s staff “represent the real Baidu”.
The Chinese language tech immense, as soon as thought to be a rival to Alibaba and Tencent, has lately been plagued by means of a line of disappointing product tasks compounded by means of stalled expansion in its major seek promoting trade.
The Nasdaq-listed corporate’s marketplace price has fallen from a top of about $115bn in 2021 to $39bn.
With the stand of generative synthetic understanding, Li has concentrated workforce and assets on turning Baidu into China’s resolution to OpenAI.
The corporate’s chatbot Ernie, its counterpart to ChatGPT, is without doubt one of the leaders in China, however Baidu faces pageant with dozens of start-ups growing their very own immense language fashions.
Supplementary reporting by means of Nian Liu in Beijing
