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.
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