PR executive reportedly departs China’s Baidu after comments glorifying overwork draw backlash

Qu said her films did not represent Baidu’s position. Both Ernie Bot, an artificial intelligence services comparable to ChatGPT, and Baidu run China’s powerful search website.

” Many of the critiques are very important, I am reflecting seriously and sincerely accept them”, she said. The movie contains a lot of inappropriate language that, according to some,” caused internal miscommunications about the company’s principles and corporate culture, and seriously harm.” I honestly repent”.

Qu even pledged to develop her control and communication skills and show greater compassion for her coworkers.

Her remarks came at a time when some younger people in China are protesting a work culture that demands rigorous workdays.

Qu’s opinions in the series of short video on Douyin, which have since been deleted, had also drawn criticism.

In the set, she threatened to sabotage the profession of the company’s employees by demanding that they find employment elsewhere in the field. She did this by sending hundreds of complaint letters to her boss.

She also criticized a worker who refused to travel for a 50-day business trip as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, which had severely restricted travel and required days of confinement for residents.

” Why should I take into consideration my company’s home? Qu continued, noting that if employees refused to take for business trips, they did not receive raises or work promotions.

Foreign tech companies have long been criticized for their lengthy workdays.

The “996” job society, which required employees to work from 9am to 9pm, six days a year, has recently sparked a public debate. After the deaths of two Pinduoduo people, one of whom died suddenly on the street when she returned from labor, the matter was brought up again.

Jack Ma, inc- founder of Alibaba, even faced criticism in 2019 for endorsing the 12- hour workday culture, saying that those who enjoyed their work did not get the “996” process to be a problem.