75,000-Word Resignation Letter Sparks Alibaba's Rapid DingTalk Leadership Shake-Up

A 75,000-character internal resignation letter has led to the swiftest leadership change in Alibaba Group's recent history. On June 11, DingTalk — Alibaba's enterprise communication platform — announced that founder Chen Hang, known internally by his moniker "Wuzhao," stepped down as CEO, replaced by Chen Yusen, the youngest business unit CEO in Alibaba's history at age 34. The shake-up unfolded with extraordinary speed. On June 4, Teng Yaxin (internal alias "Yousu"), a core product manager on DingTalk's AI team, posted a 75,000-character essay titled "Inside Ding" on Alibaba's internal network. The essay detailed a culture of toxic overwork, including the "Wangshu Operation" — a directive requiring employees to leave later than rival Feishu's staff — and midnight office patrols by management. She described collapsing twice during the ONE project, the second time requiring an ambulance, and receiving a poor performance rating after taking a single day off. The post went viral internally and then leaked externally. Four days later, Ma Ruila, DingTalk's recently resigned vice president, published "Outside Ding," expressing anguish over the systemic dysfunction. "What pains me is that such a talented young product manager had to use 75,000 characters to rescue herself from the system," he wrote. On June 10, Alibaba's Partner Committee — the company's highest governance body — posted an unprecedented public criticism on the internal network under the title "Loyalty, Integrity, and Growth: That's the Real Alibaba Culture." The post directly condemned DingTalk's management practices as "not what Alibaba culture should look like." The very next day, Chen Hang was removed. Chen Hang, DingTalk's original founder who grew the platform from zero to 300 million users over six years, had only returned to lead the division in March 2025 after a four-year absence. According to the resignation letter, his return was marked by a "desperate need to prove himself," which translated into aggressive internal targets and a demanding management style. This incident marks a departure from Alibaba's historical pattern of handling internal criticism. Previous controversies, including a high-profile 2021 workplace incident and a 2025 critique by DingTalk's former head of product, were met with internal discussion but no immediate structural changes. In this case, the company acted within a week — sending a clear signal that certain management approaches are no longer acceptable.