Qianpin Responds to Rumor of Heavy Layoffs
DoNews, 1/29/13
Responding to recent reports that it had laid off 50% of its employees, Chinese group buy site Qianpin said today that the decision to lay off employees had been the unavoidable result of the company's transition. Qianpin began layoffs in November 2012, downsizing 40% of its total workforce, or more than 200 people around China. Qianpin said that it had provided outgoing employees with severance pay and packages.
Qianpin said that the majority of people affected by layoffs were sales employees, and said that it had made no further headcount reductions since the last round of layoffs. Qianpin is currently searching for investors for a second round of funding.
Editor's Note: While Qianpin was positioned as a local lifestyle services e-commerce site from the outset, it hewed closely to a traditional group buy mode of operations. In late 2012, Qianpin began to transition towards a "service mall" model with a number of new local features including food and grocery delivery. For more background on this topic, please see "Qianpin Adds Online Food Ordering, Takeout Services" MD 12/06/12 issue and "Qianpin Closes Five Regional Branches" MD 12/03/12 issue.
Keywords: B2C e-commerce Internet funding Qianpin second-round group buying HR
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