Sources say Huya to cut hundreds of employees as Chinese technology retreats According to Reuters

By Josh Ye

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese video game streaming site Huya (NYSE:) has begun laying off staff, three sources close to the matter said, as many of its tech companies The country downsized after a severe regulatory crackdown.

Huya, controlled by Tencent Holdings (OTC:) and once part of a plan the Chinese gaming giant had to create a Chinese answer to the US platform Twitch, intends to cut hundreds of employees. members, the sources said. They are not allowed to speak to the media.

The company’s Nimo TV unit, which launched in 2018 as the international version of Huya, was hit the hardest with major staff cuts already being made.

Huya, one of China’s largest video streaming platforms along with rival DouYu, has 2,075 employees in 2020, according to its latest annual report.

Huya declined to immediately comment.

Tencent’s plan to merge Huya and DouYu to create a $10 billion video game giant was blocked by Beijing last year for antitrust reasons as part of a regulatory crackdown.

Since then, Chinese regulators have stepped up scrutiny of the live-streaming industry, and Tencent this month closed its Penguin Esports video game streaming arm.

Huya’s staff reductions were first reported by local media such as Tech Planet, which reported that Huya’s biggest rival DouYu was also laying off many employees.

Douyu told Reuters it is not currently conducting large-scale layoffs, but making normal staffing adjustments to optimize resources.

Other Chinese tech giants, including Alibaba (NYSE:) and Tencent, have cut staff after new regulations banned some old businesses and limited their growth opportunities.

Chinese social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu, known as China’s answer to Instagram, last week said it was cutting about 9% of its workforce.