Tencent, ByteDance lay off employees amid slowing growth: report
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Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) and TikTok parent ByteDance (BDNCE) have started to lay off employees in China as growth stalls, impacting thousands of employees, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The news outlet, citing current and former employees, noted that this is the latest round of cost-cutting measures for the companies. Previous cuts happened at loss-making businesses and noncore segments, but as the Omicron variant of COVD-19 has made its way throughout the country and caused prolonged lockdowns, the new layoffs are happening to employees in core areas.
Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) shares were little changed in premarket trading on Thursday, while other Chinese tech stocks dipped, including 1% declines for Alibaba (BABA), JD.com (JD) and Baidu (BIDU).
The cuts at Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) will come in a variety of groups, including "dozens" at its WeChat service, with the cuts impacting its short-video service Channels. The Journal added that it is also cutting people from its video game unit that runs gamer communities and some in-house game developer studios may also look to cut staff in the next several months after the latest game approval list from Chinese government officials did not include any titles from Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY).
The layoffs at ByteDance (BDNCE) are also hitting its video game business, The Journal added, as the company's plans to expand into the area have been pushed back by regulatory and economic issues.
In addition, ByteDance (BDNCE) is letting go of roughly 3,000 people in its education unit, citing to slowing demand. 
The Journal also added that Bilibili (BILI) has cut employees from its video game and live-streaming units going back to May, citing current and former employees.
Despite the cuts, Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) and ByteDance (BDNCE) are adding employees in some areas, including the metaverse, virtual reality and continued expansion overseas, The Journal reported.
On Wednesday, Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) renewed its strategic cooperation agreement with JD.com (JD), with the value expected to be paid or spent in cash and in the form of the company's shares combined.