Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has frozen pay raises for senior executives this year, and is instead giving junior staff bigger salary increases, sources have said.
The group is reportedly making the move in an effort to preserve its workforce amid a regulatory clampdown.
Hundreds of top-tier executives at Alibaba are not entitled to salary hikes this year unless they performed extraordinarily, four sources familiar with the matter said.
'Talent is Alibaba Group's most important asset. We have a robust and competitive compensation system that reflects our priorities in cultivating our next generation of talents,' Alibaba said in a statement to Reuters.
The online giant did not directly comment on the pay freeze for executives.
Alibaba, which employed more than 252,000 staff as of 2020, usually decides pay rises for most individuals in April.
The Hangzhou-based company has still offered considerable pay rises to junior staff, said the people, declining to be named as they were not allowed to speak to media.
In February, the group reported that sales in its final quarter of 2020 rose by 37%, bolstered by the Singles Day event in November.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM. For more Technology stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
