Alibaba Wows Arnold With Jobs Claim
When Alibaba.com CEO David Wei promised to create 100,000 jobs over three years in the U.S. at parent Alibaba Group’s annual conference this weekend, it surprised at least few people–including California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a guest speaker at the conference in Alibaba’s hometown of Hangzhou. Schwarzenegger eagerly announced afterwards that he wanted to sit down with Wei and figure out how he could get all of those jobs for California. The Terminator even mentioned possible tax incentives for the Chinese company.
Sorry, prospective job seekers of America, but as it turns out there’s no use winging those resumes to Hangzhou. It appears that Wei actually meant that Alibaba.com believes its online trade platform–which links smaller manufacturers, usually in China, with interested buyers, usually abroad–will create 100,000 jobs indirectly through the commercial opportunities it creates as it expands. Alibaba.com isn’t planning to actually hire 100,000 U.S. workers, in California or any other state.
