The death of a Pinduoduo Inc employee has renewed criticism of the long hours commonly practiced at China’s technology companies, which are already under scrutiny by regulators for anti-competitive business practices.
The e-commerce company yesterday confirmed that an employee died last week after working past midnight, without providing additional details.
That sparked a social media backlash against the company and the relentless working schedules expected of its employees.
The so-called “996” office schedule — 9am to 9pm, six days a week, plus overtime — has previously spurred criticism following complaints from employees and deaths.
Technology billionaires, such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd founder Jack Ma (馬雲) and JD.com Inc founder Richard Liu (劉強東), have endorsed the practice as necessary for survival in an intensely competitive industry and the key to accumulating personal wealth.
The online criticism adds to the challenges for China’s largest technology companies, which spent the past year fending off efforts by Washington to curb their growth, while navigating heightened regulatory scrutiny at home.
Despite that, Pinduoduo emerged relatively unscathed with its shares rising to a record high on Wednesday last week.
The shares ended last year up nearly 370 percent, helping to elevate founder Colin Huang (黃崢) to the position of China’s second-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
DISASTER: The Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded a magnitude 5.7 and tremors reached as far as Kolkata, India, more than 300km away from the epicenter A powerful earthquake struck Bangladesh yesterday outside the crowded capital, Dhaka, killing at least five people and injuring about a hundred, the government said. The magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 10:38am near Narsingdi, Bangladesh, about 33km from Dhaka, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake sparked fear and chaos with many in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people at home on their day off. AFP reporters in Dhaka said they saw people weeping in the streets while others appeared shocked. Bangladesh Interim Leader Muhammad Yunus expressed his “deep shock and sorrow over the news of casualties in various districts.” At least five people,
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
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