3C big seller lays off 50% of employees! Employees hold banners to demand salary

3C big seller lays off 50% of employees! Employees hold banners to demand salary

There was news of a massive layoff among Amazon's 3C sellers, from more than 1,000 employees to more than 100. The laid-off employees demanded their wages online by calling on the CEO and by holding banners. As the year draws to a close, the plight of these "wage demanders" has attracted a lot of attention.

Black Shark Technology, the company involved in the layoffs, was once a well-known company, invested by Xiaomi and released products in cooperation with Tencent. However, it took only about a year for it to fall from the clouds.

Black Shark Technology has laid off a large number of employees, and employees are starting to demand their salaries

Yesterday, an industry seller revealed that Black Shark Technology laid off a large number of employees but did not pay compensation as agreed, which caused large-scale rights protection by employees and banners were hung in its office.

Black Shark Technology is a mobile technology brand that focuses on gaming and e-sports. In addition to mobile phone products, it also has a variety of peripheral products such as heat dissipation back clips, gaming headsets, gaming accessories, charging cables, mobile phone accessories, etc., which cover the needs of gaming users relatively comprehensively.

Black Shark, a brand under Black Shark , also entered the cross-border e-commerce field early and gained a foothold. On Amazon US, Black Shark's products include gaming phones, keyboards, headphones, mice and mouse pads, among which Bluetooth headsets and headphones are particularly popular, with the ratings of both Bluetooth headsets exceeding 5,000. One of its Bluetooth headsets has received a lot of praise for its high cost-effectiveness and good sound quality. A buyer commented: The headset is comfortable to wear and has an immersive audio experience, which is very suitable for shooting games; the microphone effect is also very good, and the sound is clear.

But now, this 3C seller is also caught in the quagmire of layoffs.

It is reported that Black Shark has previously laid off nearly 50% of its employees. Later, some former Black Shark employees said that some employees in the Shanghai area had also begun to be laid off. According to the "Sci-Tech Innovation Board Daily", after several rounds of layoffs, the Black Shark team has been reduced from more than 1,000 people in August 2022 to more than 100 people at present, retaining only a few departments such as the Internet and functional departments.

The former employees said that Black Shark had agreed with them to pay the compensation in several installments before they left. On January 10, Black Shark Technology CEO Luo Yuzhou posted a large number of former employees on Weibo, reminding them that the 10th had arrived and the layoff compensation had not yet been paid. That night, most of the former employees only received 2,000 yuan in payments, and a few employees said they did not receive any compensation, which was far from the previous agreement between the two parties.

A former employee shared a post about the deposits into his bank account. On the evening of January 10, he received a salary payment of 2,000 yuan (compensation). He was angry about this: "First, they tricked everyone into signing a resignation agreement, saying that the compensation would be paid in six months, but in the end, they breached the contract in the first installment."

The compensation was not paid as agreed, and the actual amount paid was significantly different from the agreed amount, which triggered dissatisfaction among the resigned employees. They began to defend their rights. On the one hand, they hung banners in front of the door of Black Shark, denouncing the company for not paying wages; on the other hand, they left a message on Black Shark CEO's Weibo, demanding that the company pay compensation as agreed.

An employee said: "We understood that the compensation was divided into three months, and I could tolerate it being divided into six months, but what we got was only 2,000 this month. Step by step, we are forced to the point where we are now hanging banners. Ordinary employees also want to celebrate the New Year!" Another employee broke more news, "Black Shark Technology laid off employees, and no compensation was paid! On January 10, 2023, most people only received 2k red envelopes... The company's assets have been sold and transferred, and the original office location in Shanghai has been vacated!"

From being a leader in gaming phones in the past to being faced with layoffs and wage arrears today, Black Shark's failure to pay compensation to departing employees soon became known to the public.

Hitting the bottom, Black Shark employees may find it difficult to get compensation

It is understood that Black Shark sent a text message to some employees saying, "Since the company encountered huge operating difficulties, it has been committed to paying the compensation. We are sorry to inform you that the severance pay cannot be paid in full as agreed. We will continue to try our best to find a way to solve the funding problem and strive to pay the remaining severance pay as soon as possible."

According to the company, the compensation issue will be resolved in the future, but many employees do not have high expectations for this. A former Black Shark employee said that some employees in Shanghai were laid off at the end of last year, and the compensation was divided into six installments, and it is highly likely that the money will not be received.

At present, many laid-off employees have only received 2,000 yuan, and some have not even received any compensation. A former Black Shark employee said: "The company has not given any response so far, and the first compensation originally planned to be paid on January 10 has not been paid as scheduled."

According to Tianyancha information, Black Shark Technology is headquartered in Nanchang and has many subsidiaries. The company is engaged in software development, R&D, production and sales of mobile phones, computers, communications and other electronic equipment; production and sales of headphones; production and sales of mobile power supplies, mobile phone accessories, backpacks, data cables; sales of clothing, daily necessities, small accessories, etc. In April 2018, it received angel round investment from Xiaomi Group and Jinkai Group, and Lei Jun held 36.13% of the shares.

Black Shark is a company that is not ordinary, as it is related to Xiaomi. Its largest shareholder is Tianjin Jinxing Venture Capital Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Xiaomi, which holds more than 40% of the shares. In addition, the company also cooperated with Tencent to launch the Tencent Black Shark Gaming Phone 3. In the field of fast charging, it also keeps up with the latest technology and launched a fast charging kit.

The founders of Black Shark Technology also have a certain background. Its co-founder and CEO Luo Yuzhou was once the vice president of Huawei's consumer business in China, and another founder Wu Shimin was once the president of Huawei's mobile broadband terminal product line.

However, Black Shark employees revealed that Luo Yuzhou resigned from the legal representative of several subsidiaries in October last year and found several deadbeats to replace him. The company's assets have been sold and transferred, and the only remaining peripheral team has been sold in exchange for 35% of Shenzhen Mingyuan Electronics' shares. The Internet team has re-signed the contract and operates independently.

Black Shark has also vacated its original office in Shanghai, which was the company's R&D center. The asset transfer operation is very familiar. Once this happens, the company is likely to run away, and it is difficult for employees to get the compensation they deserve.

In fact, Black Shark's failure was foreshadowed. The company has not released a new product for 10 months, and its official blog has not been updated since October last year. In October last year, it was rumored that Tencent had given up on acquiring the company.

Previously, there were constant reports that Tencent would spend 2.7 billion to acquire Black Shark, which undoubtedly added a layer of glory to Black Shark. At that time, there was news that after the acquisition, Black Shark would be integrated into Tencent as a whole, and its core business would shift to VR/AR technology. Tencent would provide content, and Black Shark would provide VR hardware access.

After the acquisition by Tencent was stranded, Black Shark seemed to have experienced a catastrophe and began to lay off a large number of employees, among which the VR project was the hardest hit area. Later, only a few departments such as the Internet and functional departments were retained. From being the focus of everyone's attention and being brought to the sky by Tencent to a large number of layoffs and unpaid wages, Black Shark instantly fell to the bottom. The experience is really sad!

3C sales

Layoffs

Wages