Rumor: Baidu Freezes Non-campus Hiring
36Kr.com, 10/20/15
According to an internal memo sent today to employees of Chinese internet company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) by Baidu Vice President of Human Resources Liu Hui, starting today the company will implement a temporary freeze on large-scale, non-campus hiring. The only exceptions to the new policy will be hiring for a handful of specialized positions, and only after securing approval from Baidu CEO Robin Li and VP of HR Liu Hui.
Baidu explained that the new policy is aimed at sharpening the company's focus on recruiting only top talent, and added that campus recruitment would not be affected.
Industry analyst Lu Wenshuang told Chinese tech media site 36Kr.com that Baidu has encountered bottlenecks to growth, and is now investing RMB 20 bln in cash to develop its O2O business, the success of which remains uncertain. So Baidu is introducing a non-campus hiring freeze largely to demonstrate to investors that, "Even if you don't see a return on investment in the short term, you can see we are making a highly concerted effort to cut costs."
Editor's Note: An industry source confirmed to Marbridge today that an internal memo announcing a hiring freeze had been sent to Baidu employees today, but could not provide any more specific details.
Keywords: Lu Wenshuang Liu Hui Robin Li Internet Baidu HR BIDU
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