Produced by Leida Finance, Written by Mo Enmeng, Edited by Deep Sea

A rumor of laying off 30,000 employees has pushed the home appliance giant Hisense to the center of public opinion.

Faced with rampant rumors of layoffs, Hisense quickly issued a statement to refute them, stating that all currently circulating data and information regarding layoffs at Hisense are false speculations. Hisense said that, like most companies, it makes moderate adjustments at the end of the year based on corporate performance and individual performance, and that the company has continued to recruit in the past six months.

Looking back at Hisense's development, it is quite legendary. Its predecessor was Qingdao Radio Factory No. 2, founded in the late 1960s. Starting from producing semiconductor radios, to gradually delving into the TV industry, and then continuously expanding its business coverage through capital operations, Hisense has gradually grown into a global home appliance giant with numerous brands and five listed companies.

However, as two important listed companies under Hisense, Hisense Visual and Hisense Home Appliances are currently facing pressure to grow their revenues. In the first three quarters of this year, Hisense Visual's revenue growth slowed down, and its net profit attributable to shareholders fell by nearly 20%. Although Hisense Home Appliances' revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders in the first three quarters hit record highs, the growth rate was lower than that of the same period last year. Especially in the third quarter, both Hisense Home Appliances' revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders declined to varying degrees.

30,000 people out of work? Hisense denies rumors: false speculation

According to Tianyancha data, Hisense is an extra-large electronic information industry group company supported by digital multimedia technology, intelligent information system technology, modern communication technology, green energy-saving refrigeration technology, urban intelligent transportation technology, and other technologies, covering multimedia, home appliances, IT intelligent information systems, and modern real estate.

According to Blue Whale News, recently, several individuals claiming to be Hisense employees posted messages on social media platforms stating that "Hisense Group is facing large-scale layoffs, with the number of employees decreasing from 110,000 to 80,000, and the layoff ratio may be between 20%-30%." Another netizen certified as a Hisense Home Appliances employee stated on social media, "Half and half, the list will be released next week, with an overall 30% reduction, divided into two waves before and after the new year."

Blue Whale News sought confirmation from several Hisense employees regarding this matter, and they all indicated that they had heard about it but were unclear about the specific plans and ratios. One campus recruit said they had received a layoff notice, mainly targeting fresh graduates and new hires, and they were actively communicating with the company regarding compensation plans. However, some current Hisense employees also stated, "The online news is too exaggerated. The actual number of layoffs may not be that high, but overall, there are fewer orders this year compared to previous years."

Radar Finance learned from Hisense's official website that as a well-known domestic home appliance company, Hisense Group's extensive business territory and significant brand influence have attracted industry attention. Currently, Hisense Group not only owns well-known brands such as Hisense, Toshiba TV, Rongsheng, Gorenje, and ASKO but also has five listed companies in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, namely Hisense Visual, Hisense Home Appliances, Sanyo Electric, Epistar, and Colin Electric.

According to financial reports previously released by Hisense Visual, Hisense Home Appliances, Epistar, and Colin Electric, as of the end of last year, the number of employees of the aforementioned four companies was 18,038, 56,240, 2,227, and 2,888, respectively. According to Tonghuashun iFind, Sanyo Electric has 5,608 employees. Based on these figures, the cumulative number of employees in the aforementioned listed companies under Hisense Group alone exceeds 85,000.

At the 14th China Management & Global Forum held in October this year, Jia Shaoqian, chairman of Hisense Group, even revealed that Hisense has more than 100,000 employees worldwide, including 25,000 foreign employees, initially forming an integrated research, production, and sales layout across Europe, the Americas, ASEAN, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and China - the global "5+1" regional center.

Faced with rumors of layoffs that sparked heated discussions online, on December 10, the Hisense Group Brand Department issued a statement through the Hisense official blog to respond. The statement mentioned that all currently circulating data and information regarding layoffs at Hisense are false speculations. Hisense also stated that it would pursue legal responsibility for some media and self-media outlets that deliberately exaggerate the number and proportion of layoffs to "generate traffic."

Hisense emphasized that, like most companies, it also allocates human resources through an evaluation mechanism and makes moderate adjustments to organizations and employees at the end of each year based on corporate performance and individual performance, "treating mid- and high-level managers and ordinary employees equally, with entry and exit at all levels."

In the statement issued this time, Hisense also revealed that it has continued to recruit in the past six months. Since the second half of this year, Hisense has continuously expanded employment channels and has already recruited over 700 university graduates from the class of 2025.

Radar Finance found that this is not the first time Hisense has been troubled by rumors of layoffs. As early as 2020, rumors circulated online that Hisense would lay off 10,000 employees. At that time, the Hisense Group Brand Department also responded, stating that the data in the existing online information about quantitative layoffs at Hisense were not true.

However, although Hisense denied the scale of layoffs at that time, it did mention the concept of "last-place elimination." In its statement, Hisense admitted that due to the global pandemic, the domestic and international markets for the home appliance industry have experienced significant declines. Since Hisense's overseas business revenue accounts for more than 40% of the group's overall revenue, the operating situation is even more severe. Like all enterprises, Hisense Group faces the arduous challenge of overcoming difficulties and preserving the jobs of tens of thousands of outstanding employees.

To overcome this challenge, Hisense Group took measures such as having senior executives take the lead in reducing salaries and accelerating the "survival of the fittest" among employees through last-place elimination. Hisense believed that this would motivate all employees, transmit pressure at all levels, improve system efficiency, stabilize performance, and forge a healthier corporate body through adversity.

Growing stronger through mergers and acquisitions

Hisense's predecessor was the state-owned Qingdao Radio Factory No. 2, founded in the late 1960s. In 1969, Qingdao Radio Factory No. 2 was established, marking the official beginning of Hisense's decades-long entrepreneurial journey. At that time, Qingdao Radio Factory No. 2 mainly produced semiconductor radios.

However, just one year later, Qingdao Radio Factory No. 2 successfully developed Shandong's first electronic tube 14-inch TV, filling a gap in TV manufacturing in Shandong Province. Later, Qingdao TV Factory, jointly established by Qingdao Radio Factory No. 2 as the main body, along with four other units, was officially launched in 1979.

In 1984, Qingdao TV Factory introduced the world's leading color TV production line at that time and launched the first generation of Qingdao-brand color TVs. By 1993, with the establishment of the Sino-American joint venture Qingdao AT&T Communications Equipment Services Co., Ltd., the company officially entered the field of communication technology and began to layout the 3C industry structure.

The origin of the name Hisense can also be traced back to this year. That year, following the promulgation of the Trademark Law, the company boldly decided to launch a naming contest among all employees. In the end, the words "Hisense" proposed by Chief Engineer Qian Zhongyu stood out, symbolizing "embracing all rivers, boundless trust." In March of the same year, the new trademark "Hisense" was officially registered.

After gradually solidifying its foundation in the TV industry, Hisense's "ambitions" grew. In 1996, Hisense introduced inverter technology with a high starting point in China and established an air-conditioning company. In 1997, China's first generation of inverter air conditioners were born in Hisense.

In the subsequent development of Hisense, capital operation strategies such as mergers and acquisitions have played a non-negligible role, providing strong support for Hisense's continuous growth. In March 1997, through capital operations, Hisense successively acquired Guiyang Huari TV Factory and Liaoning Jinfeng TV Factory, establishing Guiyang Hisense Electronics Co., Ltd. and Liaoning Hisense Electronics Co., Ltd., respectively, extending Hisense's capital operation "lever" nationwide.

A month later, Hisense spun off its core TV industry assets and was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Hisense Electric (now renamed "Hisense Visual") successfully entered the capital market.

After entering the new millennium, Hisense further accelerated its development pace. In 2001, Hisense launched China's first CDMA color screen mobile phone, leading a new trend in the mobile phone market. In 2002, Hisense cooperated with Japan's Hitachi Corporation to formally enter the commercial air-conditioning field, further expanding its business scope.

In September 2005, Hisense signed a share transfer agreement with Kelon and acquired Kelon for 680 million yuan. At this point, the company, whose predecessor can be traced back to Guangdong Zhujiang Refrigerator Factory, founded in 1984, officially became a member of the Hisense Group. In 2018, Hisense Kelon was renamed Hisense Home Appliances and has been used since then.

However, Hisense's acquisitions in the new century did not stop there. In 2015, Hisense Group acquired all shares and assets of Sharp's Mexican factory, known as the "father of liquid crystal," for US$23.7 million and obtained the brand usage rights for Sharp TVs in the Americas (except Brazil).

In November 2017, Hisense acquired Toshiba TV again, incorporating Toshiba TV's products, brands, operational services, and other businesses into its portfolio and obtaining a 40-year global brand license for Toshiba TV.

In 2018, the European Commission approved the acquisition of Slovenia's renowned home appliance manufacturer Gorenje by Hisense Group. In the same year, the Swedish national treasure-level home appliance brand ASKO joined the Hisense family along with Gorenje, further enriching and improving Hisense's brand matrix. By 2021, Hisense Home Appliances made another push and completed the acquisition of Japan's Sanyo Electric.

In January last year, through overseas investment, Hisense Visual successfully obtained control of Epistar and became its controlling shareholder. In September this year, Colin Electric announced that its controlling shareholder had officially changed to Hisense Netenergy, a subsidiary of Hisense Group.

Two "aces" face growth challenges

Radar Finance learned from Hisense's official website that in 2023, Hisense achieved annual revenue of 202.2 billion yuan and a total profit of 13.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11%. Among them, the overseas market contributed 85.8 billion yuan in revenue to Hisense, accounting for 42.5% of its overall revenue, demonstrating its strong competitiveness in the global market.

Hisense emphasized that in the B2C industry (consumer-facing business) with displays as its core, Hisense has always maintained a leading position globally; at the same time, in emerging B2B industries (government and enterprise-facing business) such as smart transportation, precision medicine, and optical communication, Hisense also occupies a frontier position nationally and globally.

However, in the response statement issued this time regarding rumors of layoffs, Hisense also revealed the challenges currently facing the company to the outside world: "Currently and in the future, business operations face greater uncertainties and challenges."

Radar Finance noticed that within Hisense Group's vast enterprise system, Hisense Visual and Hisense Home Appliances are undoubtedly two important pieces of its business landscape. Both companies occupy a pivotal position in terms of revenue contribution and employee scale.

In 2023, Hisense Visual achieved revenue of 53.6 billion yuan, and Hisense Home Appliances achieved revenue of 85.6 billion yuan, together accounting for most of Hisense's revenue.

It is understood that Hisense Visual is primarily engaged in the research, development, production, and sales of display and upstream and downstream industry chain products, while Hisense Home Appliances' main business covers refrigerators, household air conditioners, central air conditioners, washing machines, kitchen appliances, environmental appliances, commercial cold chains, molds, and other fields. However, these two "aces" of Hisense are also currently facing pressure to grow their revenues.

Specifically, Hisense Visual recorded revenue of 40.65 billion yuan in the first three quarters. Although this represented a year-on-year increase of 3.63%, this growth rate was significantly slower than the 20.65% growth rate in the same period last year. Moreover, Hisense Visual's net profit attributable to shareholders in the first three quarters was 1.31 billion yuan, a nearly 20% year-on-year decline, revealing the challenges it faces in profitability.

As for Hisense Home Appliances, it is also currently experiencing slower revenue growth. In the first three quarters of this year, Hisense Home Appliances achieved revenue of 70.579 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.75%. From 2020 to 2023, Hisense Home Appliances' revenue growth rates were all above 13% in the same period, and even reached 43.6% in the first three quarters of 2021.

In the first three quarters, Hisense Home Appliances' net profit attributable to shareholders reached 2.793 billion yuan, but the 15.13% growth rate of net profit attributable to shareholders was far lower than the 126.76% in the same period last year.

Specifically, in the third quarter, Hisense Home Appliances' quarterly performance even declined year-on-year, with revenue falling slightly by 0.08% to 21.937 billion yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders declining by 16.29% to 777 million yuan.

Compared with other giants in the industry, Hisense does not have a significant advantage in revenue scale. In the first three quarters of this year, the revenues of Midea Group, Haier Smart Home, and Gree Electric Appliances reached 318.975 billion yuan, 202.971 billion yuan, and 146.722 billion yuan, respectively. During the same period, the net profits attributable to shareholders of the first three were 31.699 billion yuan, 15.154 billion yuan, and 21.961 billion yuan, respectively, far exceeding those of Hisense Visual and Hisense Home Appliances.

Regarding the current challenges faced by the group, Hisense also stated in the statement issued this time that on the one hand, it actively innovates and upgrades, encourages internal entrepreneurship through measures such as optimizing organizational functions and differentiated management of various industrial sectors, allowing each industrial sector to manage and grow independently; on the other hand, it carries out organizational reforms and cadre competitions for positions to further stimulate organizational vitality and improve operational efficiency.

It is worth noting that Hisense Home Appliances recently announced an important personnel change decision. The former chairman, Dai Huizhong, applied to resign from his position due to reaching the retirement age and combining personal wishes. His successor is Gao Yuling, an "80s female leader" who previously served as the financial director and chief accountant of the company.

It is reported that Gao Yuling joined Hisense in 2007 and has rich experience in financial management. She has held various financial-related positions in multiple companies under the Hisense Group and has played a key role in Hisense's overseas mergers and acquisitions. With Gao Yuling taking on the role of new chairman of Hisense Home Appliances, there are new expectations for Hisense's future mergers and acquisitions.

Radar Finance will continue to pay close attention to the subsequent development of Hisense Group.