For China’s Internet Giants, It’s Out with the Old, In with the Young

As part of their restructuring efforts in 2018 and early 2019, China’s large tech companies – Alibaba, JD.com, Xiaomi Technologies, Baidu and Tencent – have promoted competent young employees to leadership positions while letting go of midlevel managers who were no longer able to keep up. Dong Jie, a writer for Chinese tech media platform All Weather TMT, explains the talent development strategies of China’s internet giants. CEOs, managers and people working in human resources may find these HR insights applicable. Critics might remark that the companies’ eagerness to move established employees to the sidelines to make space for their young successors could also have negative consequences. Managers and HR experts will have to decide themselves whether in their business environments, experience is an asset or a burden.