Chinese e-commerce platform known for group buying. Company faced criticism after two employee deaths from overwork in early 2021 and retaliating against whistleblower.
At 1:30 AM on February 1, 2021, a 22-year-old Pinduoduo employee heading home from work collapsed and died hours later. Less than two weeks later, another Pinduoduo employee committed suicide when visiting his parents. These deaths occurred amid reports of 300-380 hour monthly work requirements and sparked widespread criticism of China's overwork culture.
On January 7, 2021, programmer Wang Taixu posted a photo of a colleague being taken to hospital by ambulance at Pinduoduo's Shanghai headquarters. The post went viral on Maimai social platform. Pinduoduo fired Wang the next day. He continued speaking out about 300-380 hour monthly requirements, with his vlog receiving 94,000 comments mostly supporting him and criticizing the company's retaliation.