The Bilibili logo is seen at the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference in Shanghai, taken on July 30, 2021."Sorry, you are terminated" has been replaced by "congratulations, you graduated" in dismissal notices issued by some Chinese technology companies, sparking controversy amid ongoing job cuts in the sector.
A termination letter sent to dismissed JD.com employees offered "congratulations on your successful graduation" from the company, and provided details on how to handle social security issues, employment records and other personnel matters. Bilibili's dismissal letter was titled "graduation day", and provided instructions on similar human resources issues.
A JD.com business unit that handled sales of books, pet products and cross-border e-commerce on the company's main site also planned to cut staff by 15 to 20 per cent, 36Kr reported. Some social media users were angry at the use of the term "graduation". One Weibo user named Shuaishixiong said sarcastically that JD.com was "too merciful" because it paid employees but "did not ask them for tuition fees". Another user named Maoxiaogun asked why an employee who gets sacked should be congratulated.