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China's Tech Force Faces Mass AI-Driven Layoffs, Report Says

China's Tech Force Faces Mass AI-Driven Layoffs, Report Says
China’s overworked tech force now faces mass AI-driven layoffs: Report · thehansindia.com

In China, many people used to work for big internet companies like Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance.

Their jobs were famous but very tiring, with some people working from 9 in the morning to 9 at night, six days a week.

Now, computers with artificial intelligence, called AI, have learned to write computer code.

Because AI can do this work, companies don't need as many human programmers.

A new report says China's five biggest internet companies let go of more than 130,000 workers in the last 18 months.

One AI helper is said to be able to do the work of 100 people.

Some companies even removed 30 to 40 out of every 100 workers.

Older workers worry the most, because the average worker at these companies is now only about 27 years old.

Many families who thought their jobs were safe now worry about paying their mortgages.

Key facts

Report Source
Sri Lanka-based Daily Mirror
Total Layoffs
Over 1.3 lakh (130,000) employees across five major internet giants in 18 months
Companies Involved
Tencent, Alibaba, ByteDance, Baidu, JD.com
Alibaba Workforce Reduction
30–40 per cent
Work Culture
'996' — 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week
Average Age at Some Tech Giants
27.5 years
Productivity Claim
One AI agent can replace the work of 100 people

Quotes

Daily Mirror report

An unnamed source from the Daily Mirror report

“Once prestigious jobs now seem insecure, with salaries declining even for graduates of elite universities…The average age at some tech giants is now 27.5”
thehansindia.com
“A company with 50 programmers now equals the productivity of 5,000”
thehansindia.com

Sources

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