I’m not your mum! Chinese tech chief quits after berating her staff for daring to moan about working 12-hour shifts with only one day off a week

A Chinese tech executive who faced backlash on social media after telling staff they grumbled about long hours: “I’m not your mother” has now quit.

Baidu vice president and head of public relations Qu Jing had posted several videos on social media addressing employees.

“I can make you unemployed in this industry,” Ms. Qu said in one clip as she warned staff that she needed their dedication and did not care if it would affect their personal lives.

“I’m not your mother,” she said. ‘I only care about the results.’

Baidu is one of China’s largest technology companies, operates the country’s leading search engine and is often seen as the country’s equivalent of Google.

Baidu is one of China’s largest technology companies and is a leading search engine similar to Google

But her comments struck a chord with young workers fed up with long hours and relentless pressure.

Chinese tech companies are notorious for their long working hours, with employees expected to do the ‘996’. This means they start work at 9am, leave at 9pm and work six days a week.

Ms Qu has now left the company. In a series of short videos posted last week on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, she had spoken about her dedication to her career, strict management style and incessant demands on subordinates.

She criticized one for not wanting to work on weekends, and dismissed a complaint that her nightly work messages kept one of her employee’s crying children awake.

In one clip, the tech boss said: “I can put you out of work in this industry.” Her comments have infuriated young workers, who work long hours and often work six days a week

The vice president and head of PR has now resigned after her comments came to light

In another clip, she stated, “If you work in public relations, don’t expect weekends off. Keep your phone on 24 hours a day, always ready to respond.”

Douyin users accused Ms Qu of an aggressive and insensitive approach and of promoting a toxic workplace.

On Thursday, she apologized on social media for causing “external misunderstandings about Baidu’s values ​​and culture.”

“Many of the criticisms are very relevant, I think deeply about them and humbly accept them,” she said. “There are a lot of inappropriate ones [things said] in the video that caused external misunderstandings about the company’s values ​​and corporate culture, causing serious damage. I sincerely apologize.”

It is understood that she resigned from Baidu hours later.

Baidu did not respond to a request for comment. Ms Qu could not be reached.