BEIJING – Baidu’s media relations chief has resigned after posting a string of videos endorsing 24/7 work and making light of staff well-being, reigniting a furore over the Chinese tech industry’s relentless “996” culture.

Ms Qu Jing stepped down on May 9, according to people familiar with the matter, after posting at least four videos in which she talked about keeping her phone on 24/7 and warned subordinates to toe the line.

“I’m not your mother-in-law,” she said in one of the clips she posted to Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.

The Baidu executive’s comments reverberated across social media in China, where a debate has raged about the demands that an aggressive tech industry has often placed on its often young workforce.

Dubbed 996 because of the tendency to demand that employees work from 9am to 9pm for six days a week, the practice came under scrutiny after the unexplained deaths of several tech employees made headlines.

Beijing warned companies against excessive work for staff during a broader crackdown that began in 2020 on the powerful sector, although the practice has endured – particularly as jobs dried up in an economic downturn.

Ms Qu later apologised, saying what she posted were her personal views and not Baidu’s.

A Baidu spokesperson did not respond to text messages seeking comment.

While Ms Qu drew a plethora of outraged responses, some commentators on social media said she was merely speaking the plain truth about an industry that is now struggling to grow.

The executive had deleted her videos as of May 10 and her page merely carried her apology. BLOOMBERG