LIFE IS CHEAP

Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo and food delivery platform Ele.me have been criticized for their “coldblooded” response to the sudden deaths of two employees, both attributed to overwork.

On December 21, a Beijing food delivery worker surnamed Han, who had often worked from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., died suddenly while delivering his 34th order of the day. Han’s family was only offered 2,000 RMB in compensation from Ele.me and a 30,000 RMB insurance payout, because he was not an employee but took orders “independently” through Fengniao, a thirdparty platform operated by Ele.me. After an outcry, Ele.me increased the compensation to 600,000 RMB and pledged to increase insurance protection for delivery drivers.

On January 3, after a 23-year-old employee of Pinduoduo died suddenly on her way home from work at 1:30 a.m., a social media account associated with the company posted, “Everybody at the bottom exchanges their life for money…if you choose an easy life, you have to bear the consequences.” The comment was deleted 30 seconds later, and Pinduoduo later claimed it was a “personal” message by an employee of a third-party partner.