Although he has withdrawn from the "front stage" operation, as the founder of JD.com, Liu Qiangdong still dominates the highest decision-making of JD.com.

　　On November 22, Liu Qiangdong issued a letter to all employees of JD.com to adjust the treatment of employees and executives.

This is the first time in the past few years that JD.com has proposed a comprehensive salary cut for executives.

　　In the internal letter, Liu Qiangdong apologized to the team, saying, "I hope the executives can understand and support this decision! I'm sorry to the two thousand executive brothers, I apologize to you!"

　　Compared with JD.com in its start-up period, the company is now facing pressures such as intensified competition and a downward trend in the general environment.

　　The salary adjustment will take effect from January next year

　　One of the key points of the staff letter is to reduce the salary of executives.

　　The letter stated that the group decided that starting from January 1, 2023, all senior managers above the deputy director of Jingdong Group and above the corresponding P/T sequence will have their cash salaries reduced by 10%-20%. get more.

According to China Business News, the deputy director level is P9.

　　Liu Qiangdong stated in the letter to all employees that more than 2,000 executives were involved in salary cuts.

However, Liu Qiangdong also pointed out that the salary reduction does not last forever. "If JD.com's performance returns to a high-growth state within two years, the group can restore everyone's cash compensation at any time."

　　The grassroots employees of Jingdong told the first financial reporter that the adjustment does not involve the grassroots. Judging from the salary increase of grassroots employees, the salary of grassroots employees is still rising according to the previous twice-a-year salary increase system, but it is adjusted according to individual circumstances. Staff increases vary.

　　Pan Helin, co-director and researcher of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center of Zhejiang University International Joint Business School, told reporters that this move objectively promotes the fairness of the company's internal salary system, which is a positive approach.

　　However, Pan Helin believes that the executive salary cut has a limited effect on JD.com's "cutting expenditure", and its main role is to achieve short-term financial balance.

Judging from the trend, executive salary cuts are short-term and may rise in the future.

From the perspective of executive income, many executives realize their income through equity. For example, Liu Qiangdong recently transferred some equity to the management.

"Activate" grassroots employees

　　In the internal letter, improving the treatment of grassroots employees has also become another focus of this adjustment.

　　Liu Qiangdong stated in the letter to all employees, "Starting from January 1, 2023, we will gradually pay the five social insurances and one housing fund for more than 100,000 German brothers, so as to ensure that every German brother can 'care for their old age and protect them from illness. There is a doctor' to provide basic security for brothers. In the past, although Debon's practice was legal, there are still many outsourcing brothers who cannot enjoy the full five social insurance and one housing benefits like their own employees. We will follow certain conditions, Gradually transform outsourcing brothers into Debon's own employees."

　　In March this year, JD Logistics spent 8.976 billion yuan to acquire a 66.5% stake in Debon.

After that, Debon experienced a round of executive adjustments.

In the election of the fifth board of directors, Yu Rui, CEO of JD Logistics, was elected chairman, and Tang Wei, senior vice president of JD Group, was elected vice chairman.

　　After the completion of the acquisition, although JD Logistics' dependence on JD Group is declining, the operating costs of JD Logistics are on the rise.

　　JD Logistics’ third-quarter financial report shows that operating costs increased by 35.3% to 33.1 billion yuan from 24.5 billion yuan in the third quarter of 2021.

The overall increase in operating costs was also caused by the increase in the merger of the Debon Group.

Among them, the salary and welfare expenses of operating personnel such as warehousing management, sorting, transportation, distribution and customer service were 11.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.8%.

In addition, the outsourcing costs involved in the business reached 13.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.4%.

　　Liu Qiangdong emphasized that although this adjustment will cause short-term financial pressure on Debon, it will have better financial performance after implementing various management measures of "better troops and simpler administration, strengthen coordination, activate employees, and improve efficiency".

　　Regarding Jingdong’s proposal to allow outsourced employees to enjoy five insurances and one housing fund, Pan Helin believes that the purpose is to reduce the worries of low-level employees, so that low-level employees can rely on their old age and take care of their illnesses.

The effect of this move may not be within JD.com, but it will put more pressure on competitors, and major logistics and distribution platforms may follow Debon in the future.

　　From the perspective of business layout, the merger with Debon is conducive to the improvement of JD Logistics' business.

Yang Daqing, an expert in the logistics industry, said to China Business News that JD.com’s long-term advantage lies in its ability to integrate warehouses and distribution, but its ability to “transport” is not yet sufficient. As JD Logistics wants to build an integrated supply chain service capability, it needs to focus on trunk express transportation. Strengthening independent resources and investing in Debon Logistics can quickly catch up with the express business scale.

JD.com's Future Challenges

　　Jingdong Group turned losses into profits for two consecutive quarters, becoming the "best answer sheet" handed over by Jingdong Group CEO Xu Lei since he took office.

　　In the latest investor conference call, Xu Lei said, "At this stage we are in the transition period of macro-cyclical adjustments. Although the epidemic and economic downturn have caused many companies to face difficulties, we can be sure that the future will be positive. , because there are already signs of recovery, it’s just not sure how fast it will be.”

　　But whether it is internal or external, the "noise" Xu Lei faces has not been reduced because of the improvement in performance.

　　An internal email by Liu Qiangdong reprimanding "JD.com for losing its low-price advantage" was circulated across the Internet. For a while, the voice of JD.com's "unable to fight the price war" continued to expand.

　　The reporter noticed that at the beginning of this year, many business lines of Jingdong were optimized and adjusted, including Jingdong logistics, Jingdong health, Jingxi and the V business group under Jingdong retail, which had different proportions of layoffs.

　　In addition, the financial report shows that JD.com’s new business revenue in the third quarter was 5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 12.8%.

In June, Jingxi Pinpin, which focuses on sinking markets, closed related businesses across the country.

A reporter from China Business News inquired about the Jingxi Pinpin applet and found that only Beijing and Langfang, Hebei Province are still operating in the country.

In December 2020, JD.com invested 700 million US dollars in the community group buying platform Xingshengyou, and then entered the community group buying under the name "Jingxi Pinpin", and expanded its business to Guangdong, Shanghai, Shandong, Jiangsu and other regions within half a year.

However, in less than two years, Jingxi Pinpin ended its attempt at community group buying through comprehensive contraction.

　　Starting from the second quarter of this year, JD.com began to "reduce expenditure".

Jingdong’s second-quarter financial report shows that general and administrative expenses in the second quarter were 2.3 billion yuan, compared with 2.6 billion yuan in the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 11.5%.

In the second quarter, operating costs increased by 4.3% to 231.7 billion yuan.

　　The financial report for the third quarter shows that general and administrative expenses in the third quarter were 2.6 billion yuan, compared with 3.1 billion yuan in the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 16%.

Marketing expenses in the third quarter were 7.6 billion yuan, and 7.8 billion yuan in the third quarter of 2021, a year-on-year decrease of 2.6%.

In addition, performance expenses and research and development expenses only increased slightly. In the third quarter, performance expenses (purchase, warehousing, distribution, customer service and payment processing expenses) increased by 0.5% from 14.3 billion yuan in the same period last year to 14.4 billion yuan, accounting for 5.9% of revenue. It was 6.5% in the same period last year.

Research and development expenditure in the third quarter was 4.1 billion yuan, and it was 4 billion yuan in the third quarter of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%.

Operating costs increased by 10.5% to 207.3 billion yuan.

　　Xu Lei said in the third quarter report conference call that this year's logistics has been affected the most since the epidemic in three years.

Affected by the extension of logistics performance time or the difficulty of performance, the order cancellation rate of Double Eleven this year is slightly higher than that of previous years.

　　Pan Helin believes that there is no better way to "open source" at this stage. Currently, JD.com is investing heavily in assets through the layout of logistics, and it is under more pressure than the asset-light operation model.

JD Logistics’ financial report shows that as of June 30, 2022, Debon Logistics has nearly 9,000 outlets in China and 145 distribution centers with a total area of ​​more than 2 million square meters and more than 20,000 self-owned operating vehicles.

　　In the face of challenges, it may be JD.com's new choice to pay more attention to the vitality of grassroots employees and add logistics business.