Josh Ye

HONG KONG, (Reuters) – Three sources close to Huya’s situation said that the Chinese streaming video site Huya has begun laying off employees. This is as more technology companies in China are scaling back following a harsh regulatory crackdown.

Huya, which is controlled by Tencent Holdings (OTC:) and was once part of a plan the Chinese gaming giant had to create China’s answer to U.S. platform Twitch, intends to cut hundreds of staff, said the sources, who declined to be named because they are not permitted to speak to the media.

Large staff reductions have already been implemented in the company’s Nimo TV division, which was launched as an international version Huya.

Huya is the largest Chinese video streaming platform, alongside DouYu. According to their latest annual report in 2020, Huya had 2,075 employees.

Huya refused to comment immediately.

Beijing didn’t approve of Tencent’s plans to combine Huya, DouYu and create a video-game streaming giant worth $10 billion. This was part of an antitrust crackdown.

Chinese regulators have increased their oversight of livestreaming and Tencent has shut down its videogame streaming division Penguin Esports.

Huya’s staff cuts were first reported by local media outlets such as Tech Planet, which said that Huya’s biggest rival DouYu is also laying off many employees.

Douyu said to Reuters that the company isn’t currently making large-scale cuts but instead making regular personnel adjustments to maximize resources.

There are also other tech companies in China, such as Alibaba Tencent (NYSE:), and Tencent have cut staff due to new regulations banning some of their older business practices and limiting growth possibilities.

Xiaohongshu Chinese social ecommerce app, also known as China’s answer to Instagram said last week that it had laid off about 9%.This story incorrectly states that Nimo TV launched in 2018. It was not 2014.