Meta's physical retail store in California Photo: VCG

Chinese internet giants are considering adding more head counts as major US technology companies take aggressive steps to slash their payrolls, the Global Times has learned.

As US internet companies from Meta, parent company of Facebook, to Twitter to ride-hailing company Lyft are laying off workers amid sluggish consumption and high inflation in the US, many previously hard-to-get specialists are seeking jobs on the market. 

Chinese internet companies including TikTok are looking at adding more jobs, the Global Times learned from a number of employees at TikTok owner ByteDance. 

As TikTok is focused on the overseas market, local talent is needed for localization efforts, people who declined to be identified told the Global Times. 

Pan Helin, an economics professor at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, told the Global Times that it is natural for some of the laid-off specialists to be picked up by Chinese internet companies.

Their expertise in the industry will be an asset Chinese internet companies look for, Pan said, adding that many of the job-seekers are Chinese citizens or people of Chinese origin.

"Internet workers tend to stay in the industry after laid-off, but people like the ex-employees of the internet giants, which offer great compensation packages, may find start-ups and small and medium-sized companies less attractive," Pan said.

TikTok continued its streak as the app that generated the most revenue during the third quarter, according to industry portal Sensor Tower in September.

However, industry insiders pointed out that Chinese internet companies are themselves in a downsizing cycle and those who had overseas businesses are unlikely to hire on a large scale in the US, due to the complicated international situation.

As US tech companies are also downsizing outside the US, the laid-off experts are also being sought by companies from Singapore, Britain and India. 

Chen Da, chief advisor with Shanghai-based HHSC Capital, told the Global Times on Tuesday that Chinese companies tend to rely on merger and acquisition deals to expand overseas, rather than hiring directly. 

For professionals to drive localization, Chinese social media apps often look for employees with sales and marketing skills, rather than those who work in product development, Chen said.

Global Times