(Yicai Global) Dec. 1 -- IQiyi is laying off 20 percent to 40 percent of its employees, staff at the Chinese video platform operator told Yicai Global.

The layoffs affect many divisions including gaming, user product, and video community, Yicai Global learned. The Beijing-based company has yet to respond.

Rival short-video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has posted recruitment information on careers platform Maimai, hoping to attract those laid off by iQiyi.

IQiyi’s loss widened almost 42 percent to CNY1.7 billion (USD267 million) in the third quarter from a year ago due to increased spending on original content and intense competition from other video platforms, the firm’s earnings report showed on Nov. 17.

Revenue rose 6 percent to CNY7.6 billion (USD1.2 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30, driven by a greater number of subscribers, more online adverts and better content distribution services.

“During the third quarter, we experienced significant uncertainty in terms of content scheduling, which resulted in softer than expected top-line performance,” founder and Chief Executive Gong Yu said on an earnings conference call.

Editor: Tom Litting