Liu Qiangdong says JD.com (京东) must do everything to keep its employees' jobs

Leak and the pledge

It has been reported that Sina Tech obtained a copy of founder Liu Qiangdong (刘强东)’s latest internal speech, in which he urged JD.com (京东) to “do everything” to protect employee jobs as new technologies reshape the business. JD, which now employs more than 900,000 people, reportedly aims to become “the largest physical‑world operator” and — Liu said — remain the biggest employer in China even 20 years from now. How do you automate and still keep hundreds of thousands working? That is the challenge he framed for the company.

“Nirvana” project and robobases

Liu reportedly introduced an internal initiative called the “涅槃项目” (Nirvana project) designed to shield large numbers of blue‑collar workers from displacement. JD has opened more than 80 “robobase” training centers nationwide, the speech said, to teach workers robot maintenance and other higher‑skilled roles — a process Liu described as turning blue‑collar jobs into white‑collar technical work with higher pay. It has been reported that he pledged JD would not lay off frontline employees replaced by robots, and that the company will try to minimize the impact on “more than half a million” blue‑collar workers and their families.

Context and credibility

The pledge is as much political signal as personnel policy. Beijing has repeatedly prioritized social stability and employment amid an economic slowdown, and large Chinese tech firms face pressure to show they support national goals while speeding automation and cutting costs. International trade frictions and calls for tech self‑reliance add another layer: domestic firms are under incentive to retain scale and social legitimacy at home. Reportedly, JD’s plan — if fully implemented — would be costly and complex; analysts will watch whether upskilling at scale can genuinely absorb displaced labor or mostly serve as a public‑facing commitment to regulators and staff.