Alibaba fires 10 employees for leaking details of sexual assault | Business and Economic News

The details of the attack make Alibaba the most compelling symbol of widespread abuse by Chinese technology companies.

People familiar with the matter said that Alibaba Group Holding Co., Ltd. fired 10 employees because the company publicized an employee’s allegations of sexual assault against a former manager and because the e-commerce giant is working to resolve a case that shocked Chinese technology institutions.

Alibaba announced internally the dismissal of the organization last week because the organization shared a distressing account posted on an internal forum by a colleague surnamed Zhou, who accused a former manager of rape. People familiar with the matter said their crimes included sharing a screenshot of the woman’s post in the public domain after removing the watermark with her ID, and asking for an anonymous discussion of internal affairs. They added that the other three were condemned for making inappropriate comments on public forums.

Zhou’s description became popular this month, turning China’s second-largest company into the most compelling symbol of widespread abuse by Chinese companies and technology companies, a by-product of an environment that often places achievements above culture. . After the case sparked controversy over gender discrimination in the corporate world, Alibaba has fired the defendant manager and accepted the resignation of two executives.

CEO Zhang Yong admitted that his company’s handling of complaints is a kind of “humiliation.” The description of Ms. Zhou being forced to drink heavily and being harassed during and after dinner with clients aroused widespread sympathy for her plight, including internally.

But people familiar with the matter said that Alibaba had no choice but to fire these 10 employees because they violated a very strict policy that prohibits disclosure of content on employee forums. They added that this internal platform is open to Alibaba’s 250,000 employees and many employees of the fintech giant Ant Group, and is considered to be forbidden. The company has fired others in the past for leaking information. Alibaba representatives did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

The Alibaba incident this month has sparked criticism that Chinese women have been neglected, materialized, or forced to participate in male-dominated rituals, such as drinking with customers, and then ignored when reporting abuse. At the same time, the government has rigorously scrutinized issues ranging from exploitative and monopolistic practices to abuse of low-wage workers.

After Zhou claimed to complain directly to the supervisor and the human resources department that there was no progress after two weeks, she posted her lengthy account internally, and eventually protested during dinner time in an employee cafeteria of Alibaba.

After her presentation was captured on video and watched millions of times online, the company launched an internal investigation. Alibaba later publicly condemned its head of human resources, set up a sexual harassment complaint hotline, and set up a high-level committee to resolve future disputes.

Other people familiar with the matter said that Alibaba decided to fire these 10 employees after completing internal investigations in the past few weeks. They said it has not announced the final results of the investigation to the public.

Last week, Chinese police arrested Zhang, a former employee of Jinan Hualian Supermarket who had dinner with Zhou for the first time. Her former manager, whose surname is Wang, is still under police investigation on suspicion of “forced indecency”-an allegation that may include sexual assault.