(Yicai Global) April 19 -- Bilibili has dismissed an online rumor that claimed the Chinese video-sharing platform is planning to let go staff from its live-streaming department, saying it is in fact doing the opposite.

Bilibili is hiring for more than 40 live-streaming positions, an employee at the Shanghai-based company told Yicai Global. The live-streaming business is developing normally, with its gross profit margin widening for three straight years, the person added.

A rumor circulating on social media recently suggested that Bilibili is planning to reduce the headcount at its live-streaming department, allegedly intending to have talks with certain employees after lockdown ends in Shanghai.

The layoffs are related to Bilibili’s ties with agencies that manage live-streaming hosts, according to the rumor. Bilibili’s profit is limited as it is paying those agencies much higher commissions than the industry standard to encourage their input, the rumor said. The platform did not comment on that.

Bilibili does pay above-average commissions for live-streaming and advertising, an entertainment sector analyst at Dolphin Research told Yicai Global. But she believes that can lead to long-term growth.

In the final quarter of last year, Bilibili was sharing more of its revenue with content creators. Revenue sharing costs jumped 91 percent to more than CNY2.4 billion (USD376 million) from a year ago, its financial report showed. 

Last year, Bilibili’s loss more than doubled to CNY5.8 billion. But it expects to break even in 2024 based on non-GAAP earnings, according Chief Financial Officer Fan Xin.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi