Pinduoduo faces growing PR storm over death of young worker after conflicting public statements on tragedy

PDD’s first public statement expressed sadness at the death and condolences for the family but a social media post triggered public backlash. Young worker’s death has sparked renewed debate on long-hours culture in the tech industry. — SCMP

China’s social e-commerce giant Pinduoduo has found itself caught in a growing public relations crisis after conflicting public statements in response to the death of an employee, who collapsed on the way home after working long hours.

PDD confirmed on Monday that a 22-year-old employee, a woman surnamed Zhang, collapsed at around 1.30am on Dec 29 while walking home from work with colleagues and later died in a hospital. The case sparked an investigation into the company by the Shanghai authorities, criticism from China’s state broadcaster CCTV and renewed discussion on social media about the notorious “996” long-hours work culture at tech companies.