Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai announced on Tuesday that the company will restart hiring, citing renewed confidence following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent meeting with business leaders.
Speaking at HSBC’s Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong, Tsai described the rare February gathering—attended by key Chinese tech figures, including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma—as a strong signal from Beijing that companies should reinvest and expand their workforce.
The move marks a shift from the regulatory crackdown that began four years ago, which dampened investment and led to widespread layoffs in the tech sector.
Alibaba’s workforce had been shrinking for 12 consecutive quarters, but Tsai believes the downturn has bottomed out. “We’re going to start to reboot and rehire,” he said.
The hiring push comes as China grapples with sluggish economic growth, a lingering real estate debt crisis, and record-high youth unemployment. Tsai emphasized that increased hiring would bolster consumer confidence. “Once you hire people, that gives them job security and income growth, which translates into business and consumer confidence,” he said.
Private firms like Alibaba play a crucial role in employment, particularly for China’s 13 million annual college graduates, a quarter of whom seek jobs in IT and internet-related fields. According to Guo Shan, a partner at Hutong Research, recent AI breakthroughs—such as DeepSeek’s cost-efficient models—have also spurred optimism and increased demand for tech talent.
While Alibaba is investing heavily in AI, Tsai expressed caution over the massive sums being funneled into the sector in the U.S., warning of a potential bubble. “People are talking about $500 billion in investments. I don’t think that’s entirely necessary,” he said, noting concerns about speculative data center projects.
Alibaba plans to invest at least 380 billion yuan ($52 billion) in cloud computing and AI over the next three years. The Hang Seng Tech Index, which includes Alibaba, has surged 24% this year, driven by optimism from Xi’s meeting and excitement over AI advancements.
