"Make Alibaba Great Again": Internal network reunites business units

by Song Jianan

Alibaba Group has reportedly restored its internal communications platform across business units, a move employees interpret as a symbolic step toward reintegration after two years of operational separation.

Multiple Alibaba employees said on social media that, as of the evening of May 8, internal forum access was reopened to staff from across different business groups. The update marks the first time in two years that employees from across the organization can interact within a unified internal system.

Jiemian News confirmed the development with additional Alibaba employees on May 9, who verified the platform had indeed been reconnected.

The news quickly generated buzz among staff online. Posts with slogans like "Make Alibaba Great Again" proliferated on internal forums, with some users calling it a "historic moment."

Several employees also noted changes in reporting structures—such as HR heads from multiple business groups now appearing under Group Chief People Officer Jiang Fang. Additionally, employees at units like Cainiao have reportedly received notices about new employee badges, suggesting that a broader unification of internal systems may be underway.

Insiders say the company may soon allow cross-group job transfers—reversing a previous policy that required employees to resign and reapply when moving between business units. That policy, in place since the group’s restructuring, meant staff had to forfeit seniority and go through re-interviews when switching to another group.

As of publication, Alibaba had not issued an official response to the developments.

The internal changes came on the same day Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Yongming Wu posted on the company’s forum, calling on employees to "return to their entrepreneurial roots." He wrote that Alibaba "must let go of past achievements" and adopt a startup mentality to navigate a new chapter, or else risk missing future opportunities. "We must think like a startup and create opportunities from scratch—otherwise, what lies ahead will only be risk," Wu said.

Wu also reiterated that Alibaba had undergone two years of proactive restructuring, centered on the strategy of "user first, AI-driven." He said the group would now focus its resources intensively on several "core battles," though he did not specify what those would entail.

Alibaba’s most notable restructuring took place in March 2023, when it launched a "1+6+N" model. The "1" stood for Alibaba Group as a holding company, overseeing strategic planning, resource allocation, and capital operations. The "6" referred to six major business units—Cloud Intelligence, Taobao Tmall, Local Services, Cainiao, Global Commerce, and Digital Media and Entertainment—each with its own board of directors and CEO. Many of these units were granted autonomy to raise capital and pursue IPOs.

The "N" represented various independently managed business entities across diverse sectors, including Alibaba Health, DingTalk, and Amap, intended to encourage innovation and market responsiveness.

The restructuring was designed to enhance agility and independence across units to better compete in an increasingly complex market. However, signs of re-centralization emerged in 2024. Plans to spin off Cloud Intelligence were scrapped, while IPOs for Cainiao and Freshippo were put on hold.

Reopening internal network access may suggest the company is pivoting again—this time toward stronger integration and collaboration between business units, potentially breaking down the information silos that had emerged from earlier decentralization efforts.