(Yicai) Dec. 28 -- Chinese e-commerce giant JD.Com said it will increase the fixed salaries of its procurement, sales, and other frontline staff by almost 100 percent from Jan 1.

These workers have contributed much to JD's business performance, the Beijing-based firm said late yesterday. JD Retail staff will also get an average pay raise of at least 20 percent, it added.

Livestream sales have brought a lot of online traffic to JD.Com, with more than 380 million viewers tuning in to its live broadcast sales studio on Nov. 11 for Double 11, the biggest annual shopping event in China, according to the company’s data.

During Double 11, popular products, including Apple's iPhone 15 series, sold out immediately at its live broadcast studio, the executive in charge of JD's live broadcast studio told Yicai.

“Compared with using external anchors as hosts, JD.Com’s in-house procurement and sales employees have more professional knowledge about the products, the person said. “This model means there is no need for additional expenses such as advertising payments and commissions for invited hosts.”

JD.Com began adjusting salaries at the end of last year. Founder Richard Liu told staff in November 2022 that from Jan. 1 this year executive earnings would be cut, while the pay of grassroots employees, including outsourced workers, would rise. Senior executive pay was slashed by 10 percent to 20 percent, with even bigger cuts for those higher up the corporate ladder.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev