Alibaba Cloud to cut 7% of staff, sending thousands of workers packing ahead of planned IPO

Alibaba’s cloud division is downsizing as it prepares to go public amid economic headwinds that pushed revenue down 2% in the first quarter. The ecommerce giant as a whole has also been reducing headcount this past year, with payroll numbers down by more than 4,500 in the first quarter. — SCMP

Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing division of ecommerce giant Alibaba Group Holding that is seeking an initial public offering in the next 12 months, is laying off thousands of workers amounting to 7% of its staff, according to people briefed on the matter.

Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, has not publicly commented on planned lay-offs and did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The move was reported by multiple Chinese media outlets on Tuesday.