Screenshots of the Keep app. (Image credit: TechNode)

Chinese social fitness app Keep is laying off a sizable portion of its employees after reportedly quadrupling its workforce just last year.

Why it matters: Keep is joining a list of Chinese tech firms including Huawei, Didi, and knowledge-sharing site Zhihu in tightening headcount amid the country’s economic slowdown, compounded by a decline in outside investment referred to as “capital winter.”

Fueled by “bubble-like” valuations from private investors, some Chinese tech firms expanded quickly to multiple businesses at a high cost.

Details: Discussions about Keep’s layoffs have been circulating on the Chinese professional networking platform Maimai since Thursday.

“I was notified that I was laid off at 2 a.m. on October 24, had a talk at 3 a.m. and asked to leave at 4 a.m.,” said a Maimai user who is a verified Keep employee. “The number of Keep colleagues in our working group dropped from 856 to 797, and this is going to continue tomorrow,” he said in the post .

“I was notified that I was laid off at 2 a.m. on October 24, had a talk at 3 a.m. and asked to leave at 4 a.m.,” said a Maimai user who is a verified Keep employee. “The number of Keep colleagues in our working group dropped from 856 to 797, and this is going to continue tomorrow,” he said in the . Another Maimai user said the layoffs will affect 300 employees, which the company refuted, saying that it is “optimizing around 10% to 15%” of its more than 800 employees, meaning up to 120 staff members.

said the layoffs will affect 300 employees, which the company saying that it is “optimizing around 10% to 15%” of its more than 800 employees, meaning up to 120 staff members. The job cuts take place after the company’s rapid expansion in 2018, when the headcount jumped from around 200 at the beginning of the year to 800 at year-end, according to another Maimai user.

user. The job cuts were mainly for technical positions, according to Chinese media reports.

The company suspended a recruitment livestreaming on the online hiring platform Lagou slated for Friday morning.

Cutting jobs on October 24 or “1024,” known as Programmer’s Day in China, also drew ire from netizens.

Context: Keep, founded in 2014, started as a mobile fitness community that provided online fitness training programs. It gradually expanded its offline presence into fitness equipment, wearable hardware, and workout apparel.