Abstract:
Yesterday, Tencent’s 28th anniversary internal all-staff meeting revealed news of organizational changes and personnel adjustments. On social media, there is news that "it is now being rumored that Tencent will lay off 8,000 people, and the 13th grade veteran will also be laid off" and "Tencent announced that it will lay off half of its employees"... Today, in response to the news circulating on the Internet that "Tencent will lay off 50% of its employees", Zhang Jun, Tencent's public relations director, posted on Weibo to refute the rumors, calling them "pure misunderstandings and rumors."
According to the original text of the speech disclosed by the media, Ma Huateng delivered a public speech at the meeting focusing on organizational changes and business strategy, with a harsh tone. He said, "Now it is no longer about simply reducing costs from the structure, but whether we can adapt to new play styles, new battlefields, and life-and-death changes. The purpose is not to reduce costs, but to adapt to new battlefields. People and organizations must make major adjustments."
He mentioned, "Of course we still have to defend the traditional core business, but we must improve efficiency. For example, use half of the people to defend it and let the other half fight the new battle. This is the situation I described with a visual sense to help everyone understand the current situation. Today at LinkTime, I hope to be stricter than before, and I will say the ugly things first. I hope everyone understands and supports it."
The following is the transcript of Ma Huateng’s speech at Tencent’s 28th Anniversary Linktime online live broadcast that was reported online:
Let me talk about it first. I have done a lot of budgeting recently, taking stock of this year's performance and looking forward to the future. Just now, my financial colleagues also mentioned the need to take inventory of food and grass. In the past, we have been doing asset-light business. This is the first time we are doing such an asset-heavy business, so the financial and organizational structure are different. In the face of new playing methods, organizational changes must be promoted even more.
Some people will think of cost reduction, efficiency improvement, cut-off upgrades, and focus on the main business starting around 2021. Now it is no longer simply about reducing costs in terms of structure, but whether it can adapt to new play styles, new battlefields, and life-and-death changes. The purpose is not to reduce costs, but to adapt to new battlefields. People and organizations need to make major adjustments. I hope that with the original manpower, the pace will be faster and the small team can do big things. In the example of the game development team just now, visible changes can already be seen.
Many core businesses are at risk. At first, everyone thought that AI would have a great impact on search, and they felt that Google seemed to be able to withstand it; but looking back this year, the wave has really come over. Other industries and content industries may feel safe, but from today’s sharing, we can see that the wave is getting closer. If you don't move, you will panic. The waves in the distance have swallowed up the hills one after another. You can't just sit back and admire them. You need to be anxious, stand up, prepare new ways of fighting, find high ground, move supplies, get on the ship, and switch from land battle to sea battle. Among the existing army units, who can board ships and whether they can fight naval battles must be prepared in advance. Frankly speaking, it is a bit late now, and I can no longer feel safe and leisurely.
Be straightforward when choosing people who adapt to the new style of play. It’s not like in the past where you have to coax, lobby, negotiate terms, or negotiate whether to offer a management position before you’re willing to join the ship. The organization should be flat and straightforward to test whether skills can be transferred and respond quickly. Of course, traditional core businesses must be maintained, but efficiency must be improved. For example, use half of the people to defend and let the other half fight the new battle. This is the situation I described with a visual sense to help everyone understand the current situation.
In today’s LinkTime, I hope to be harsher than before, saying the ugly things first. I hope everyone will understand and support me.
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