Recently, Yunwhale Intelligence, one of the “Four Giants” in the robotic vacuum industry, has come under spotlight for a massive layoff that affected multiple departments including research and testing. Some departments saw over 50% of their workforce being let go, with probationary employees being hit particularly hard.
According to reports by Sina Technology, former employees of Yunwhale Intelligence revealed that the layoff initiative began in mid-September this year. After a wave of layoffs in September, another round took place in October and has been ongoing since. Many departments have already halved their staff, including long-time employees from development and testing departments, as well as a large number of fresh graduates and probationary employees who were all impacted by the cuts.
Another insider mentioned, “In my department, we had over 20 people back in April, but now only 7 remain, including probationary and fresh graduates, all of whom have been laid off.”
Additionally, employees disclosed that out of the company’s 12 director-level leaders, three have already resigned in the past year, indicating significant turnover within top management.
Reports suggest that this is not Yunwhale Intelligence’s first round of layoffs. In the first half of this year, probationary employees publicly complained about being terminated and filed for labor arbitration. Many others were also reportedly dismissed without compensation.
One employee revealed that those laid off were asked to sign off immediately and leave, and they would receive compensation of N+1. However, delaying the signing or leaving a month later would result in compensation of only N.
Publicly available information shows that Yunwhale Intelligence was founded in 2016 and is a company specializing in developing household robots and other products. It has consecutively ranked on the Hurun Global Unicorn Enterprise List for four years.