(Yicai Global) Jan. 29 -- Tencent-funded convenience store chain Blibee is allegedly dismissing employees who fail math tests that include trigonometric functions and vector spaces as a way to downsize the firm, which was worth USD1.6 billion after its last fundraising.

It is important for staff at corporate headquarters to be skilled in mathematics, tech media Tmtpost reported, citing a letter signed by Shenzhen-based Blibee's founder Zhuang Chenchao that was sent to employees yesterday.

Blibee's human resources department asks employees to resign, but they don't, they are fired for disciplinary violation, an employee said on Maimai, a LinkedIn-like Chinese app. A group of fresh graduates was dismissed at the end of last year without any compensation, another worker added.  

In addition to math tests, other measures are used to force out employees including confiscating their computers and forcing them to sign resignation letters while locked in the office, staff said on Maimai. 

A convenience store everyday business entails a lot of small decisions based on evaluations informed by mathematical reasoning, Zhuang said. With sound logic, performance may not necessarily exceed expectations, but without it, expectations can hardly be met at all, Zhuang added. 

Founded by former executives from Japan's 7-Eleven and Beijing-based Linjia, Blibee opened its first store in China's capital in February 2017. It debuted self-service outlets last January and launched its own app. The firm expanded the number of its stores to more that 100 by the end of last year. 

The company's capital reserves have reached a high of several billions, Zhuang added. In October, Blibee received USD256 million in new funding, with tech giant Tencent Holdings and investment manager Hillhouse Capital Group both taking 8 percent stakes.

Editor: Emmi Laine