A FAREWELL LETTER OF AN ALIBABA EMPLOYEE WENT VIRAL

Last week, a memo by a former Alibaba staff member went viral in China. Below is a summary made with Notebook. Note that I can’t verify the claims, and some might be personal grievances, but many of them don’t sound far-fetched.

Alibaba, once celebrated for its innovation and strong values, is facing profound internal challenges, according to a 10,000-word critique by former employee Yuan An. This candid report, acknowledged even by Jack Ma, suggests the company has become "mediocre" despite its scale.

A central issue is the erosion of core values, with "Customers first" having devolved into "boss first". Values, originally Alibaba's strength, are now described as "just a decoration", with employees prioritising loyalty to supervisors who control their performance and promotions. Teamwork has unfortunately morphed into "winner-takes-all" internal competition.

The company has a high rate of failed external acquisitions, including Koube, Eleme (takeout), ofo (bicycle sharing), Xiami and Tiantian Dongting (music), Youku Tudou (video), and Lazada (e-commerce in Southeast Asia, with internal innovation beyond e-commerce derivatives also being rare. This indicates a struggle to seize new market opportunities.

Human capital issues are widespread, marked by a "superstition about outsiders" leading to the hiring of overpaid, unfamiliar executives. The internal culture sees the rise of "wild dogs" (employees achieving quick results "whatever it takes") and an increasing number of "white rabbits" (underperforming staff). This is compounded by "level inflation" and unclear reward systems that foster a "boss culture" and short-termism among employees.

Strategically, Alibaba's future judgment is perceived as "unclear" and "out of touch with users". Operations are often manipulated through "targeted data brushing" or "redefining metrics" to create "false prosperity", masking underlying product weaknesses. Bureaucracy is prevalent, with many high-level managers (P8, P9, P10) out of touch, leading to unprofessional decisions and "extremely high coordination costs".

A fundamental reason for this values deterioration is attributed to HR's "dereliction of duty and breach of trust". HR, once seen as a guardian of culture and employee advocate, now reportedly focuses almost exclusively on performance results, making employees fearful of speaking the truth.

Yuan An argues these problems stem from the gradual failure of Alibaba's core slogan, leading to "institutional failure, loss of values, unclear strategy, and only seeing KPIs but no sense of mission". He proposes radical reforms: repairing values, reorganising HR, eliminating "boss culture", unifying job levels for transparency, publicising performance promotions, and significantly reducing redundancy and non-core businesses. This reflects a plea for genuine self-reflection and change to restore Alibaba's core and ensure its long-term viability.

- Ed