By Senad Karaahmetovic
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) is reportedly dismissing a third of staff in its deals business unit, according to Reuters.
The internet giant has taken these steps after mounting regulatory pressure from Beijing. The aim is to lay off about 40 mid-level and senior staff from the 110+ strong team based in mainland China.
Besides Mainland China, Alibaba’s deals team is also located in Hong Kong. The internet giant spent years attracting top talents from Wall Street banks and private equity funds to boost its in-house M&A unit.
However, China launched a heavy regulatory campaign in 2022, targeting the largest tech companies such as Alibaba and Tencent.
According to Reuters, Alibaba was making 44 deals every year from 2015 to 2021 with 38 deals finalized in 2021 only.
However, the company has completed just 9 deals this year so far.