Chinese tech outlet 36Kr said on Thursday, citing unnamed sources, that Tencent has given the staff of more than 300 units two months to find new internal or external opportunities before the unit is dissolved. reported that it was notified.

Tencent, Asia’s largest internet company, told Reuters it was not true that it planned to dismantle the business. He said he was adjusting some business teams because of a change in hardware development plans.

The company spearheaded Tencent’s bet on the concept of a metaverse of virtual worlds, setting up a unit last June with the aim of building a business that includes software and hardware.

It was also a rare foray into hardware for Tencent, known for software such as various games and social media applications.

Augmented reality is a term that refers to immersive technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality, which are considered components of the Metaverse.

discover interesting stories

The metaverse has become the new buzzword among investors and tech companies in 2021 after Mark Zuckerberg renamed Facebook to Meta Platforms and said the company’s future would be dedicated to building it.Tencent to lay off 100 people in 2022

Tencent said last month it had fired more than 100 employees in 2022 for violating the law and company policy, citing allegations of bribery and embezzlement.

In a statement about the social network WeChat, the Shenzhen-based company said it had more than 70 incidents in various business areas, including video games, live streaming and advertising, and reported more than 10 people to law enforcement agencies. said he did.

Tencent founder Pony Ma said last December that there had been a major “corruption” scandal within the company, and that poor management was sapping the company’s vitality.