Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-11-26 15:15Core Insights - Baidu is undergoing a new round of layoffs, focusing on employees with less than one year of service, older employees, and those with low performance ratings or no promotions in the last two years [1][3] - The compensation package for laid-off employees is reportedly higher than the industry average, with new employees receiving N+1.5 and older employees receiving N+3 to N+3.5, including year-end bonuses [1][3] - The scale of layoffs is unprecedented since 2018, with a total reduction of nearly 10,000 employees over four years, including significant cuts in R&D personnel [3][4] Layoff Details - The layoffs are part of a broader trend of workforce reduction at Baidu, which has been ongoing since 2021, with 4,200 employees cut in 2022, 1,500 in 2023, and an estimated 3,900 in 2024 [3][4] - The Mobile Ecosystem Group (MEG) is particularly affected, with some departments seeing a reduction of 20%-30% [3][4] - The layoffs follow Baidu's Q3 financial report, which showed a net loss of 11.2 billion yuan, driven by a decline in traditional advertising revenue [5] Business Impact - Baidu's traditional advertising business has seen a continuous decline, with revenues dropping to 15.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 18% [5] - Despite AI-related business contributing nearly 10 billion yuan, it is insufficient to offset the losses from the advertising sector [5] - The company is shifting its strategy towards AI, establishing new research departments to enhance its competitive edge in the AI landscape [5]