Ali reflects in "Living Inside DingTalk": Organizational culture needs respect and trust
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Author | Huang Yu
On the fierce AI battlefield, the stability of organizations and talent is the key to victory. After a DingTalk employee published a 70,000-word resignation essay titled "Inside DingTalk," which attracted widespread external attention, the Alibaba Partnership Committee finally weighed in.
On June 10, the Alibaba Partnership Committee posted an article on the company intranet entitled "Caring, Loyalty, and Growth: This Is Alibaba's Culture."
This post directly responded to the public stir caused by the recent resignation essay by a former DingTalk product manager, using severe language to criticize DingTalk's management practices.
The committee stated: "Everyone agrees that regardless of circumstances, no matter how urgent the tasks, the management style described in the post about the DingTalk team should never occur. This approach is never the direction advocated by Alibaba culture and not what Alibaba culture should be."
For Alibaba, which has emphasized entrepreneurial spirit, organizational efficiency, and business competitiveness in recent years, such a public correction is unusual.
To some extent, this is a response to internal management controversies at DingTalk and also a signal of Alibaba redefining its organizational culture in the age of AI.
In the post, the Partnership Committee emphasized that Alibaba people come together because of mutual trust and shared valuable achievements. "Mutual respect, treating people as people, caring and loyalty" are the foundation of Alibaba's culture. No matter how times change or technology evolves, these principles must not change.
More noteworthy is that the committee directly linked this issue to the AI era.
The post pointed out that Alibaba's future lies in innovation, but innovation never relies on high pressure and mechanical execution, especially in the AI era.
In other words, in Alibaba's view, facing the new round of AI technology competition, organizations need not stronger control, but higher-quality talent stimulation mechanisms.
This stance actually reflects the management's judgment about future competitive models.
During the rapid growth phase of the internet industry, management methods such as "996" and "wolf culture" were seen by some companies as efficiency tools. However, in the AI era, technological breakthroughs increasingly depend on the creativity of top talents and cross-team collaboration capabilities, while the marginal returns of relying solely on high-pressure management are declining.
In fact, as the DingTalk incident unfolded, the entire Alibaba Group is undergoing a new round of organizational transformation around AI.
On June 8, Alibaba announced the merger of Tongyi Large Model Division and the Future Life Lab, and the establishment of the Token Foundry Division, directly led by Group CEO Wu Yongming.
Meanwhile, Zhou Jingren will serve as Alibaba's first-ever Group Chief Scientist, leading the formation of the AI Future Research Institute. Zheng Bo will lead projects such as Happy Horse and Happy Oyster into the Token Foundry Division.
This is the third major adjustment to the AI organizational structure since Alibaba established the ATH Business Group in March 2026 and formed the Group Technology Committee in April.
In recent years, as competition around large models intensifies, Alibaba is concentrating its resources on AI strategy. To achieve this, Alibaba is continuously strengthening its coordination of core technical resources.
For Alibaba, the key resources for future competition are not just computing power and models, but the talent able to continuously create innovative results.
Therefore, when the Partnership Committee emphasizes "In the era of AI, people are the most valuable asset" and "cultivating and inspiring people is every leader's responsibility," it is essentially defining boundaries for Alibaba's organizational competitiveness going forward.
From this perspective, the DingTalk incident may just be a trigger.
What truly deserves attention is that, now fully betting on AI, Alibaba is revisiting an old question: What kind of organizational culture can continuously nurture innovation when a technological revolution arrives?
Appendix: Alibaba Intranet Post Original Text
"Caring, Loyalty, and Growth: This Is Alibaba's Culture"
Dear colleagues,
In recent days, the partnership committee has noted the discussion sparked on the intranet by "Inside DingTalk" both internally and externally, and has seriously discussed DingTalk's current team culture. Everyone agrees that regardless of circumstances, no matter how urgent the tasks, the management style described in the post about the DingTalk team should never occur. This approach is never the direction advocated by Alibaba culture and not what Alibaba culture should be.
Alibaba people gather because of mutual trust and achieving meaningful and valuable things together. Mutual respect, treating people as people, caring and loyalty are our cultural foundation. No matter how times change or technology develops, Alibaba must never change these foundations.
Alibaba's future lies in innovation, but innovation never relies on high pressure and mechanical execution, especially in the AI era. Alibaba's innovation relies on each colleague's passion and creativity. We firmly believe that only by fully respecting the individual value of every colleague can real customer value be created and the future achieved.
Team atmosphere is primarily the responsibility of all levels of management. The leader's responsibility is vision, proactive accountability, and uniting and motivating the team. People are Alibaba's most precious asset; cultivating and inspiring people is the responsibility of every leader. In the AI era, when machines can replace many tasks humans used to do, people have become our most precious asset. In the AI era, we need to adhere more to caring and loyalty and collectively nurture an open, inclusive, and diverse work culture.
Partnership Committee
June 10, 2026
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