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The head of public relations for Chinese search giant Baidu has created his own PR crisis after posting several videos that humiliated employees on social media, in the latest example of abusive behavior. sometimes brutal workplaces in China’s tech sector.
“I can make you unemployed in this industry,” Baidu Vice President Qu Jing said in a video. She added that she needs employees who are dedicated enough to go on 50-day business trips at her side and don’t care if it affects their personal lives. “I’m not your mother,” she said. “I only care about the results.”
Qu also said she is very dedicated to Baidu that she had no knowledge of her son’s year at school.
The CEO posted the videos on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, with the intention of the clips serving as an example to her team of how to use social media to promote Baidu. Instead, they continue to criticize the workplace culture at Chinese technology companies.
“Employees will never feel at home at a company without any warmth,” one user wrote on social media platform Weibo, where Qu’s comments were trending. As of Thursday, the discussion had attracted 150 million views.
“She wanted to create an ‘iron lady’ image, but the context has changed,” said independent technology journalist Wang Qingrui. “Now people do not agree with the logic of those in power.
“She not only expressed herself in her videos, but also expressed Baidu’s culture and values,” he added. “This deepens Baidu’s image problems.”
Qu’s comments also raised concerns about working conditions. The long work hours typically expected of tech workers are known as “996s” — meaning they start work at 9 a.m., end at 9 p.m., and work six days a week.
While there was some improvements After Beijing cracked down on the country’s tech giants in 2021, Qu said she still required her employees to work long hours. In one video, she said that PR people need to be available 24 hours a day and should never take vacations.
Many employees say the recent downturn in the tech sector and large-scale job cuts have reinstated long work hours amid intense competition. In other difficult practical cases, PDD Holdings has being tracked and sued former employees violated non-compete agreements, while social media group Kuaishou has begun laying off employees over 35 years old.
Baidu, in particular, has struggled to reinvent itself as its search advertising business stagnated and its bets on other businesses no longer worked. The group recently went all focused on artificial intelligencevying to become China’s answer to OpenAI.
By Thursday, Qu had deleted the videos from her Douyin account and apologized, saying she had “seriously read everyone’s opinions and criticisms” and would “reflect deeply.” about them.
She wrote on social networks: “I sincerely apologize that my video has caused external misunderstandings about Baidu’s values and culture.”
Amid the controversy, another video circulating on Chinese social media showed Qu handling a negative article in the South China Morning Post.
The clip shows a paper doll hanging in Baidu’s office with four red knives pointed at the word “SCMP” on its chest. Qu is seen whipping the doll with a string.
Baidu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
