Faced with state pressure to keep unemployment below 5.5%, Chinese tech companies are engineering quiet layoffs instead of open cuts as they aggressively pivot toward AI development https://restofworld.org/2026/china-tech-layoffs-alibaba-baidu-ai-pivot/?utm_campaign=row-social
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Alibaba reduced its head count by a third in 2025, while Baidu’s workforce declined nearly 7%. “There’s constant churn,” a Chinese tech worker said.
