Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, June 2 (TMTPOST) — Chines online Q&A platform Zhihu has laid off over 400 employees since May 20, Jiemian reported, citing multiple internal sources.

It is said that the new wave of layoffs involves Zhihu’s education, commercialization, VIP, community, technical, ecosystem governance and public affairs teams.

A source from Zhihu’s community team told Jiemian that the number of employees shown on Zhihu’s WeCom had slumped from around 3,000 to 2,885 on May 20. Later on June 2, the figure had decreased further to 2,574. This means that the company has laid off more than 400 employees within ten days.

The commercialization team was hit the worst. According to estimates done by some of the employees, over 30% of the staff at Zhihu’s commercialization team will be laid off. A source who had been laid off claimed that two-thirds of their work group were axed.

“People who got laid off are those that weren’t axed back in the video business unit,” the insider said. Since 2022, Zhihu’s video business has been adjusted several times. The business unit also underwent layoff back in March and April. Zhihu’s video business unit can no longer be found in the company’s corporate structure. Employees that survived the layoff were transferred to departments such as the commercialization and community.

Employees that got laid off vary in their positions and titles at the company. Some were still in the probation period while some just got promoted with an A-level KPI result at the year-end of 2021.

Zhihu has confirmed the reports with Jiemian, saying that Zhihu is conducting normal adjustments to its businesses and organization. The company said that it will prioritize its ecosystem and will continue to hire professional talents for core positions and provide a better experience for users.

There are several employees who are unhappy with the layoff process and compensation plans. It is said that they have already filed for labor arbitration against Zhihu.