One of China’s largest online tutoring companies, New Oriental, has fired around 60,000 workers since regulations came into force that forbade the previously $100 billion-a-year private education industry from turning a profit, reports the Financial Times. Yu Minhong, chair of the New York-listed education group, said it had laid off more than 60% of its workforce in the wake of the ban but “with everyone’s hard work, the company managed to survive and preserve some strength.”
Alongside other US-listed Chinese online education companies, New Oriental has lost 90% of its market value, and its revenues have fallen 80% since the prohibition on profits was announced last July as part of a broader government effort to reduce childcare costs and boost the country’s low birth rate.
“In 2021, New Oriental faced too many misfortunes from factors like policies, the pandemic and international relations,” said Yu. Before the ban, New Oriental had more than 5 million children enrolled in after-school courses. It has pivoted to find new revenue streams, including summer camps, dancing and drawing classes and establishing courses for overseas foreigners to learn Mandarin.
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