(Yicai Global) May 26 -- Alibaba Group Holding has refuted an online rumor about large-scale layoffs as the Chinese e-commerce giant plans to recruit 15,000 employees this year.

Some 3,000 of the new hires will be done through on-campus job fairs, the Hangzhou-based firm announced on its Weibo account yesterday.

The recent rumors on social media platforms claimed Alibaba Cloud, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics and Digital Media and Entertainment Group will downsize and the layoffs would affect as much as 25 percent of the Taobao Tmall group that handles the company's e-commerce business.

Moreover, The Paper reported recently that an insider said that layoffs of up to 7 percent of Alibaba's cloud computing arm began this month.

Alibaba responded that the rumors have caused heated discussions, adding that a "rumor is just a rumor. And our recruitment is in full swing."

Alibaba’s total headcount was nearly 235,220 as of March 31, down by more than 4,520 employees in three months, per the latest earnings report.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi