Tencent fires WeChat manager after 7-figure bonus leaks online, sparks uproar

Screenshots of the executive’s eye-watering compensation went viral on social media, which Tencent said caused a ‘severe negative impact’

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has fired a manager at its WeChat division after details of his multimillion-yuan bonus package leaked online, sparking animated discussion across social media.

The employee, surnamed Ye, was dismissed for passing sensitive corporate information to external parties, which caused a “severe negative impact both inside and outside the company”, according to an internal company bulletin seen by three Tencent employees.

Ye served as a project manager within Tencent’s Weixin Group – the core engine behind WeChat, China’s ubiquitous super-app with 1.3 billion users – according to the notice issued by the firm’s Anti-Corruption Investigation Department.

Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The dismissal came after a screenshot detailing Ye’s staggering annual pay began circulating widely on Chinese social media. The image – which appears to be taken from a company platform – revealed the manager had a compensation package worth roughly 3.17 million yuan (US$470,000).

That included a cash bonus of more than 820,000 yuan and stock incentives worth over 2.35 million yuan, according to the screenshot.