BEIJING, December 7 (TMTPOST) — Chinese short video platform Kuaishou will soon lay off nearly 30% of its employees, internal sources said on professional social-networking app Maimai.

The company has already started to cut 30% of employees at its international department, while having similar plans for other business units, according to sources.

Source: Visual China

Kuaishou will prioritize letting go employees with a higher salary, with a lot of the employees that are cut from the company enjoying a salary of over one million yuan. It is reported that the company will negotiate with employees with low KPI for voluntary resignation in December.

The company has not responded to the report so far.

Kuaishou will have to pay a N+1 compensation package to employees that are let go and the layoff will start with employees that are rated C for their KPI, internal sources at the company said. Kuaishou has four KPI standards—S, A, B and C—with C being the lowest rating.

Kuaishou’s revenue reached 20.5 billion yuan in Q3, registering a year-on-year increase of 33.4%, the company’s quarterly report shows. However, the company had a net loss of 7.09 billion yuan in Q3. Its adjusted net loss reached 4.8 billion yuan. The company’s net loss reached 29.3 billion in Q3 last year.

The report shows that cash and cash equivalents owned by Kuaishou have decreased by around 17.13 billion yuan from Q1’s 57.5 billion yuan to Q3’s 40.37 billion yuan. It is reported that such a drastic decline in cash flow has created immense financial pressure on the company and affected its investment in business lines. Once the company’s financing situation goes wrong in the capital market, there will be a cash bleed crisis for Kuaishou.

Kuaishou is a video-sharing mobile app with a particularly strong user base outside of China's Tier 1 cities. It directly competes with TikTok’s Chinese sister app Douyin.