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ByteDance CEO wants to whip employees into shape, as they lack a ‘sense of crisis’ amid fierce competition at home and abroad
- Chief executive Liang Rubo said ByteDance has become slow and inefficient in the face of increased competition
- He urged the company’s employees to stay ‘always day one’, referring to the Beijing-based firm’s entrepreneurial spirit
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Coco Fengin Beijing
The chief executive of ByteDance, owner of TikTok and its mainland sibling Douyin, said the company lacks a sense of crisis, which has made the Chinese social media giant slow and inefficient in the face of fierce competition.
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That introspection was made by Liang Rubo – co-founder of ByteDance who took over as its chief executive when fellow founder Zhang Yiming stepped down in 2021 – at an online speech on Tuesday before the company’s employees, whom he urged to stay “always day one”, referring to the Beijing-based firm’s entrepreneurial spirit, according to a person who attended the all-hands meeting.
Liang said the top priorities for ByteDance this year would be to “enhance the [company’s] sense of crisis”, “continue to increase corporate social responsibility” and “focus on a few key businesses”.
Neither Zhang nor executives from Douyin, currently the biggest cash cow of ByteDance, spoke at the meeting. Zhang at present serves as an adviser to Liang, who has been his friend since university.
ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
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