US streaming giant Hulu cuts 200 jobs in Beijing research centre as tech job losses widen
- The Beijing facility is focused on developing online video playback technologies, as well as advertising and content recommendation algorithms
- The restructuring by Hulu has triggered concerns that more US firms might leave China and displace local employees amid deteriorating Sino-US ties
US streaming giant Hulu is downsizing its research and development (R&D) centre in Beijing, cutting around 200 people, or 90 per cent of the staff at the facility, according to people familiar with the matter.
While Hulu’s streaming service is not available in China, the company set up the Beijing R&D centre in 2007, one year before it started streaming content in the US market.
The employees at the Beijing facility are focused on developing online video playback technologies, as well as advertising and content recommendation algorithms. Before the downsizing, which was first reported by local media 21st Century Business Herald, it was the company’s second-largest R&D facility after its US headquarters.
Hulu’s restructuring comes as Big Tech firms in the US, from Facebook-owner Meta Platforms to Microsoft, have been streamlining their operations to cut costs amid a gloomy macro environment.
Similarly, US tech giants Microsoft and Google recently announced plans to each cut more than 10,000 jobs in an adjustment to brace for slower revenue growth.
Hulu’s downsizing in Beijing shows how the current wave of US tech lay-offs has reached China’s shores, at a time when the country’s domestic Big Tech firms have slashed thousands of jobs in the face of regulatory crackdowns, tough competition and the adverse economic impact from last year’s strict Covid-19 curbs.
