“[For people who] underperform and don’t work hard, the company will not tolerate them and will weed them out,” the 51-year-old entrepreneur said in a video that is circulating on social media and was widely reported by local media.
Those who perform well should not have to work overtime, but average performers who work hard can also be assured that they will not be fired, Liu added.
They also stand in contrast with past comments by Liu, who has repeatedly highlighted comradeship in the company culture by calling staff “my brothers”.
The strong words come after the Beijing-based firm made a series of adjustments to its work schedule and timekeeping policies, including shortening the lunch break from two hours to one hour, as well as additional efforts to prevent “buddy punching” – a term describing workers clocking in for colleagues who are late or absent, according to people familiar with the matter.
One executive at JD.com, who declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said the company is hopeful that the changes could help correct sloppy management in the past few years.
There have been serious issues in some main business units, and the latest efforts to instil staff discipline are sorely needed, according to that person, who also said the company expects the changes to motivate staff and provide a fair environment for those who are willing to strive for better performances.
JD.com did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The company announced on Monday it will gradually raise the yearly gratuity payment for procurement staff from four months’ pay to eight months’ pay, with no cap on additional bonuses. The increase will take place in phases, beginning on July 1.
That followed two rounds of salary hikes in recent quarters, including an average 30 per cent increment for front-line customer service staff, and doubling the pay for procurement and sales employees.
The carrot-and-stick approach reflects Liu’s anxiety over how to maintain growth in an increasingly competitive e-commerce landscape, according to Li Chengdong, head of internet industry think tank Dolphin.
“As a company matures, it can acquire large-company characteristics, [such as] having staff who become less motivated and productive,” Li said. “A company might be able to ignore those issues as long as it keeps growing, but with competitors now growing much faster, the firm is trying to run a tighter ship. ”
To address the issue, JD.com has devised strategies to cut the prices of products sold on its platform by taking a page from PDD Holdings, operator of budget shopping app Pinduoduo. These include a “10-billion-yuan discount” campaign, as well as flash sales and free shipping for items as cheap as 9.9 yuan (US$1.4).
