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Tencent to Axe Jobs in Streaming, Gaming, Cloud Divisions

Tencent's second quarter revenue reached $20.45 billion for the three months to the end of June, which was seen as soft by the tech giant's previously strong record. Photo: Reuters.

Chinese tech colossus Tencent Holdings is to axe jobs in its video streaming, gaming and cloud businesses.

Sources claim the layoffs will impact three out of Tencent’s six business divisions, as China’s technology sector continues to feel the effects of a regulatory crackdown and headwinds from zero-Covid measures that have slowed the broader economy.

The sources said the job cuts will hit Tencent’s platform and content (PCG) division, which comprises of its video and news platforms, its gaming-focused interactive entertainment department (IEG) and cloud and smart industries group (CSIG).

Two of the sources said some staff in IEG were informed last week they were being laid off. Tencent declined to comment.

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Tencent cut jobs earlier this year too, alongside peers, including Alibaba Group and smaller Chinese tech companies such as Xiaohongshu.

In August, Tencent disclosed its employee numbers fell to 110,715 by the end of June from 116,213 in March.

Refintiv data shows analysts expect Tencent to report flat revenues or a small contraction on Wednesday, when it publishes third-quarter results.

Tencent management have said they are focused on cutting costs and have shuttered non-core businesses in certain areas, including online education, e-commerce and game live-streaming.

The Shenzhen-based company is eyeing global expansion to offset slowing growth in China. Reuters reported last month Tencent is resetting its M&A strategy to put more focus on buying majority stakes mainly in overseas gaming companies.

Several US tech employers, including Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Intel Corp and Twitter have also laid off thousands of workers in recent weeks.

Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara

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Sean O'Meara

Sean O'Meara is an Editor at Asia Financial. He has been a newspaper man for more than 30 years, working at local, regional and national titles in the UK as a writer, sub-editor, page designer and print editor. A football, cricket and rugby fan, he has a particular interest in sports finance.