Alibaba reassures on founder Jack Ma’s share sale plan and moves to quash lay-off rumours in internal letter
- Chief people officer Jane Jiang said in the letter the lay-offs speculation was false and the matter has been reported to the police
- Jiang also sought to clarify details regarding the planned stock sale by family trust of founder and former chairman Jack Ma
Alibaba Group Holding has clarified In an internal letter the details of a plan by the family trust of founder and former chairman Jack Ma to sell shares in the e-commerce company, while also denying rumours that it plans to lay off 25,000 employees.
In a letter published on Alibaba’s intranet, chief people officer Jane Jiang said the lay-offs speculation was completely false and that the company had reported the matter to police. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
“Rumours about Alibaba laying off 25,000 have spread widely in the past two days, with an invented storyline about how we have gone through human resources and even applied to the social security department for approval,” said Jiang, quashing the speculation.
Meanwhile, Jiang said founder Ma’s office signed a contract with a stock agent earlier this year to sell shares in Alibaba, and the plan was announced publicly in mid-November in accordance with related rules. Jiang explained that Ma intends to use the funds raised to support his agricultural technology and charity initiatives.
Commenting under Jiang’s post, Alibaba co-founder and chairman Joe Tsai said: “I have been with the company for almost 25 years. Alibaba has faced various doubts and challenges since the beginning, but we have persisted and overcome one difficulty after another.”
“As long as we keep an open mind and innovative mindset, we will have a chance to make Alibaba unique once again,” added Tsai.
Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.