Alibaba to cap employee head count at current level

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA.NYSE) will not increase its head count by a single person this year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a transcript of a speech given by Executive Chairman Jack Ma at an internal meeting in Beijing last week. “The more people you have doesn’t mean the better,” Ma said, according to the transcript. “Only when an employee leaves will another join,” he said, describing the company’s growth as “too quick.” As of the end of last year Alibaba had 34,081 employees, compared with 20,884 at the end of 2013.