Meituan is one of the largest food delivery companies in China. Delivery drivers can be seen zipping around Chinese cities. Tencent first backed rival Dianping in 2014 when it merged with Meituan to form the current company.
Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images
Chinese food delivery firm Meituan It plans to hire 10,000 workers in the first quarter of the year, the company said Wednesday, sending shares down more than 6 percent.
Meituan is hiring in dozens of cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, in various business areas, including technology development and customer services. The company said it is hiring as the “consumption recovery trend” accelerates in China.
Last year, China saw a major nationwide outbreak of CoVID-19 with a lockdown in Shanghai. Beijing continues to push forward with its “Zero Covid” policy that uses strict measures such as mass testing and lockdowns to try to stem the spread of the virus. This policy has harmed the Chinese economy. China ended its zero-covid policy late last year, raising hopes for a recovery in the Chinese economy that could also help its technology firms.
Meituan’s hiring process is unlike that of Silicon Valley technology companies. Microsoft To the alphabet Which made thousands of workers redundant.
But to some extent, China’s technology cycle has come much earlier than that of US Chinese tech firms in 2021 as Beijing imposed tougher regulations in areas ranging from antitrust to data protection. That year, Meituan was fined $500 million for antitrust.
In 2022, Chinese technology companies post their slowest growth in history as the economy stagnates and companies Alibaba To Tencent Headcount reduction Meitan reportedly laid off workers last year as well.
Meituan’s hiring spree could be the first sign that China’s technology sector is looking to expand once again. Meituan has been a beneficiary of the lockdown in China as people turn to online food delivery. Its revenue rose more than 28 percent year-on-year in the September quarter as the company, which had been losing money, turned profitable.
The stock market did not like the company’s hiring announcement, which comes at a time when sentiment toward the Chinese tech sector remains weak. Meituan shares fell 6 percent on Wednesday.
But the company faces tougher competition at home from longtime rival Ele.me, which is owned by Alibaba, as well as new players including bite-dance short video platform Douyin, which launched a food delivery service in December. Testing and considering it. Extension.
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