(Yicai Global) March 11 -- iQiyi has no comment to make on a recent report that there have been a number of high-level departures from its content departments as the firm slashes investment in drama series, variety shows and other forms of original content, the Chinese long-form video platform told Yicai Global.

Yang Yang, head of talent show planning and promotion, and Chen Qiyi, director of content marketing including drama series and animations, have recently left the firm, Sina Tech reported, citing a middle-level manager at the company.

They follow Vice President Che Che who resigned in January. And Senior Vice President Chen Wei is also likely to leave the firm sooner or later, the report said.

“The company has been reducing spending on content since the end of last year so it is not surprising that these senior executives have moved on,” the report said.

“Optimization of content costs is the most important aspect of our current operational strategy,” founder, director and Chief Executive Officer Gong Yu said recently as the Beijing-based firm grapples with a huge deficit and stiff competition.

“We won't decrease the head content, but we are using a content-related cost ratio to help us identify low-performing content and decrease spending in that direction,” Gong said. This ratio has increased over 20 percentage points year on year for four straight quarters as investment becomes more targeted, he added.

Earlier this month, iQiyi set itself the goal to break even this year after racking up losses in each of the 11 years since it was founded. The company had accumulated losses of CNY41.99 billion (USD6.65 billion) from 2015 to last year, according to its annual earnings reports.

There is reason for hope. iQiyi’s net loss narrowed over 11 percent in 2021 from the year before to CNY6.2 billion (USD982 million), according to its latest financial report released on March 1.

Editor: Kim Taylor