Selbst zwischen "Brüdern" in großen Unternehmen müssen die Rechnungen klar sein.

In the past, internet companies focused on size because the marginal costs of delivery in the internet world are very low, and companies can strive for unlimited expansion. They try to hire more employees, develop more products, and reach more users. In the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), however, significant costs are incurred for each daily active user (DAU). If companies want to do more business and expand into more markets, they must pay attention to how they can achieve more with fewer but more capable employees.

Recently, Liu Qiangdong's "Brother Theory" has once again stirred up social media.

According to reports from Sina Tech, Liu Qiangdong mentioned in an internal speech at JD.com that the company has launched the "Nirvana Project." The project is supposed to train blue-collar workers to repair and maintain robots so that they can develop into qualified technicians with higher incomes and greater social demand.

Liu Qiangdong also emphasized that "these brothers all work very hard" and promised that JD.com will not lay off any individual employees who are replaced by machines and will do everything to secure the jobs of all brothers.

For those netizens who know Liu Qiangdong well, this "Brother Theory" is not new. At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in 2018, Liu Qiangdong already explained that "JD.com will continue to grow rapidly and will never lay off a single brother."

Naturally, in the ever - changing business world, it is a bit of a luxury to talk about "always." But when you look around, while large technology companies are massively cutting staff in the name of AI, Liu Qiangdong's statement has actually touched the hearts of most employees.

However, reality remains reality, even when it comes to feelings.

In the era of AI, where the competitive conditions are becoming increasingly harsh and the opportunities of the era are gradually fading, large companies with hundreds of thousands of "brothers" behind them must decide whether to cut staff to increase efficiency or expand to achieve growth. Probably every company has its own strategy.

Redefine the Definition of "Brother"

A year ago, JD.com, Meituan, and Alibaba launched a nationwide delivery race. The price of milkshakes and coffee dropped to 0 yuan, and delivery drivers suddenly became a "golden workforce" that was sought after by all platforms.

JD.com was the first to announce that it would provide full - time delivery drivers with social insurance. Meituan also began in the second quarter of last year to provide full - time and stable part - time delivery drivers with social insurance. The large platforms have also successively added dormitories for delivery drivers and summer allowances.

Later, as we all know, the delivery race ended after a conversation with the relevant authorities.

More importantly, the three large companies could no longer withstand the money - burning battle. According to the annual reports of Alibaba, JD.com, and Meituan, the three companies added a total of 156.8 billion yuan in marketing expenses between the second and fourth quarters of 2025. This is equivalent to the total profit of the entire delivery industry in five years at its peak. The three large companies burned this amount in just nine months.

Even JD.com, which was the first to exit the delivery race, paid a high price. In 2025, JD.com achieved an annual turnover of over 1.3 trillion yuan, which is a 13% increase compared to the previous year. However, the net profit was only 1.96 billion yuan, which is a 52.66% decrease compared to 4.14 billion yuan in 2024.

In the first quarter of 2026, the new business segment based on deliveries and instant deliveries continued to record a quarterly loss of 10.35 billion yuan. The total profit of the group decreased from 1.09 billion yuan in the same quarter of the previous year to 510 million yuan, which is a 53% decrease.

The delivery business has become a "money - eater" that burdens the performance of large companies. After the release of the 2025 annual report, Xu Ran, the CEO of JD.com, explained that the total investments in the delivery business in 2026 will be reduced compared to 2025.

For JD.com, the delivery race opened the strategic entry into instant retail and at the same time cooperated with the e - commerce business to make up for the weaknesses in the area of traffic. After the preliminary success, JD.com has of course also started its strategic shift.

Subsequently, the structural adjustment of the delivery driver team was quickly implemented. According to reports from "Consumption New Voice", JD.com's instant delivery has recently carried out personnel optimization and business adjustments in several provinces in China. The focus of the adjustment was on the front - line positions of delivery leaders.

However, this round of optimization is not a mass layoff but is mainly aimed at internal transfers and rank adjustments. Internal sources say that leaders can be demoted to a lower level and transferred to the position of a delivery driver leader to both make deliveries and take over basic management. They can also voluntarily resign, but the platform does not offer additional compensation.

JD.com has not yet issued a public statement on this round of adjustment. However, on social platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, netizens who claim to be JD.com delivery drivers have said that they have either been optimized or transferred to part - time delivery drivers.

While JD.com's instant delivery is optimizing its personnel, many users have also said that it has become increasingly difficult to wait for JD.com deliveries since last year. Either the delivery drivers do not accept the orders, or the deliveries are forwarded by several delivery drivers but do not arrive. Often, one has to wait for more than half an hour.

When you consider these things together, it becomes very interesting.

We believe that when JD.com announced that it would provide delivery drivers with social insurance, it really regarded front - line employees as "brothers." But the problem is that no matter how much a company propagates brotherhood, it first has to see if its books are in order.

Liu Qiangdong also said similar things in a "crisis situation" at JD.com. In mid - 2025, Liu Qiangdong openly explained at a management meeting: "Those who have poor performance in the long - term and never make an effort are not my brothers."

The background of this statement was that Liu Qiangdong revealed his own problems at the management meeting and said that there were many cases of stamp abuse in the company and the diseases of large companies in JD.com were becoming more and more serious. This forced Liu Qiangdong to take action and speak harshly.

After all, brothers are brothers, and the books are the books.

Everyone is Equal in Terms of Performance

Although Alibaba does not talk about "brotherhood," in Alibaba's corporate culture, colleagues call each other "classmates," and when employees resign, it is called "graduation." Even Jack Ma has a "classmate feeling."

At the "Alumni Reunion" of Alibaba in 2018, Jack Ma publicly explained: "We are here together today not only because of our common work experience but also because of our common interests and common goals. Idealism has brought us together."

But whether it is about "brotherhood" or "classmate feelings," all this is in the past. Today, it is almost a consensus among all large companies to talk not about friendships but only about performance.

Since 2023, Alibaba has carried out a flat reform of the rank system and abolished the P - series rank system.

Specifically, Alibaba has replaced the original levels P4 - P8 with levels 14 - 28. Every three levels correspond to a P - level. The salaries and bonuses of employees at levels 14 - 28 depend not only on the level but also on their performance. Employees with excellent performance can be promoted several levels within a year.

In addition, employees at level P8 and above are promoted or demoted through organizational placement. Their salaries and bonuses are determined according to the business volume and team size.

One must consider that Alibaba's "P - series" was once the proudest attribute on the Internet. If one added "Alibaba P8" to one's self - introduction, it often meant a salary of one million yuan and an absolute "hard currency" in the dating market.

But now the game has changed.

The underlying logic is not difficult to understand. If the mobility of higher levels in Alibaba becomes more and more rigid, employees who only want to "earn money easily" can develop. Only by changing the rigid rank - salary system can more excellent talents be attracted.

Recently, Alibaba has dropped another bombshell and announced that the 13th - month salary will be integrated into the annual special payment and renamed the "Comrade - in - Arms Award."

Although the reward seemingly has not decreased, many netizens think that the uncertainty of getting this reward has increased. If an employee resigns before the payment of the 13th - month salary, he may not get this payment. If the 13th - month salary is paid together with the annual special payment, it may also be tied to performance.

From the perspective of employees, they could rely on the 13th - month salary before, but now they not only have to prove their loyalty but also the ability to continuously achieve high performance. It will definitely be "more competitive."

From the perspective of the company, the adjustment of the rank - salary system is inevitable, whether it is to break the rigidity of the internal organization or to provide more promotion opportunities for real talents.

In addition to Alibaba, other large companies are also secretly doing similar things. Recently, the media reported that Tencent's WeChat business unit will abolish the "group leader system." Employees will be organized into project teams, and the original "group leader system" may gradually disappear from the market.

One can see that all large companies aim the adjustment of their organizational structure and rank - salary system at the same goal: The existing organizational structure should become more flexible. It is not the high rank that decides everything, but "those who are capable come forward." Everyone is equal in terms of performance.

More Precise Rewards

Interestingly, large companies seem to be more cautious in their salary and social welfare expenditures, but they are still generous in recruiting talents in the fields of AI and big - data models.

At the end of last year, the media reported that JD.com was recruiting talents in the field of edge - AI chips with an annual salary of up to 2 million yuan. In addition to recruiting talents, JD.com has also launched the "AIidol Creation Camp" to collect AI - smart - hardware projects worldwide.

There are reports that Tencent has been constantly spending large sums of money since last year to recruit talents from external teams...