Alibaba reportedly plans to fire more than a third of its employees in related departments as investment has shrunk due to regulations by the Chinese government.

Citing four industry sources, Reuters said on the 14th (local time) that Alibaba plans to reduce the number of employees in strategic investment-related departments from 110 to around 70 and that some employees have already been notified of their dismissal.

Alibaba did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the cut.

This is interpreted as a move to reduce reckless investment and increase business concentration due to the government’s various regulations and economic slowdown.

China, which imposed various regulations on big tech companies starting with the ban on listing on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets of Ant Group, an Alibaba fintech affiliate, issued guidelines earlier this year that included full regulations on Internet companies.

On January 19, ministries such as the National Development and Reform Committee, the Market Management and Oversight Committee, and the Ministry of Industrial Innovation announced their “Opinions on Sound and Continuous Development of Platform Economic Norms.” The guidelines included both regulations on big tech companies and areas that encourage them to enter.