- Social media claims suggest 30%-40% cuts, though figures vary widely and remain unconfirmed
- Travel platform is a year into its merger with Alibaba’s China commerce group as AI reshapes OTA competition
Alibaba Group’s travel platform Fliggy (飞猪) is facing unverified reports of large-scale layoffs, according to posts circulating on Chinese social app Momo, though the company has not issued a formal response.
Multiple users claiming to be Alibaba employees said the cuts could range from 30% to 40%, while more extreme claims put reductions in some units as high as 50% or more.
One verified Fliggy employee on Momo pushed back, saying: “That’s not the case, although it is a lot.”
Inconsistent across functions
The scope appears inconsistent across functions. Some posts claimed testing and front-end roles could see reductions of about 50%, product roles around 15%, and back-end roles roughly 30%.
Another user identifying as a Fliggy intern said they experienced what they described as a “major internal layoff” shortly after joining, adding that “front-end, back-end, testing, product, operations — all were cut by 50%.”
Several accounts suggested newer hires and employees still in probation were most affected, with some departures reportedly framed as failures to pass probation.
A person close to Fliggy questioned the scale of the rumors, saying claims of widespread layoffs were not credible and that the figures circulating online lacked evidence.
As of publication, Fliggy has not commented publicly on the matter as of publication.
Folded into e-commerce
The reports of massive layoffs come roughly one year after Fliggy was folded into Alibaba’s China e-commerce division.
In June 2025, Alibaba integrated Fliggy and food delivery platform Ele.me into its domestic commerce unit, with Fliggy CEO Zhuang Zhuoran reporting to Alibaba China E-commerce CEO Jiang Fan.
The restructuring was intended to link Fliggy more closely to Alibaba’s broader consumer ecosystem and drive traffic from Taobao into the travel platform, a lower-frequency category.
However, over the past year, the unit’s internal priority within the group is understood to have declined.
The threat of AI agents
The online travel sector is also undergoing structural change as AI reshapes core functions. Fliggy began integrating Alibaba’s Qwen model into travel booking scenarios in 2025.
By around the 2026 Qingming holiday, the travel service had formed AI partnerships with more than 80 domestic and international travel brands.
AI-driven tools in customer service and itinerary planning are increasingly automating tasks that previously required human roles.
Industry observers note that Fliggy holds roughly 8% of China’s online travel market, well behind Trip.com Group’s estimated 70%. Trip.com is China’s largest online travel agency (OTA).
This sparks questions over whether deeper integration with Alibaba’s ecosystem can materially change its competitive position in an AI-driven transition, analysts say.
