We once worked together on the same dream and wondered, “How could we live without Coupang?”
But after the company went public, everything started to change. The once colorful Coupang has become increasingly dark.
1. The company calculated the fair value based on the net asset method for employees who exercised stock options before March 1, 2021.
For employees exercised between March 1 and March 11, 2021, contrary to the relevant document (Document No. 101 of 2016 of the State Tax Administration)
They forced people to pay taxes by using a mixture of net asset method, inferred method, and other methods.
2. The company granted stock options to employees before listing, even though the employees did not meet the ‘relevant conditions’.
It has been merged and treated as subject to personal comprehensive income tax.
(According to 2018 Finance and Taxation Document No. 164 and 2016 Finance and Taxation Document No. 101, those who do not meet the conditions of Article 4, Item 1 should not be included in that year’s comprehensive income.)
I don’t know if the company’s legal department doesn’t understand tax law, or if the company is sacrificing its employees’ interests and forcing them to pay more taxes in order to get a good tax rating.
3. The company’s LE system is also full of darkness.
According to the company’s system, each year, 10% of employees on each team are selected as LE (low performers).
I was selected as an LE in 2022, and that was when I experienced the “darkness” of the system for the first time.
The company conducted a total of three Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) to conclude that I was ‘incompetent at my job.’
I am a Level 5 employee and I applied Level 6 standards when developing my improvement plan.
Even though I worked hard and completed my plan well, the company judged me to be ‘incompetent’ for various unfounded reasons.
The company did not directly fire employees in accordance with labor laws, but instead continued to repeat PIP and encouraged employees to resign voluntarily because they could not endure it.
4. The company’s year-end performance evaluation is also very dark.
Although I performed well in 2023, my manager Deng Ling directly assessed my year-end performance with LE.
It appears that there was another purpose.
I have reported this issue to higher level departments (HR line, Business line) but to this day no one has taken action.
I also reported it to ethics@coupang.com, but all I got back was the possibility of an improvement plan (PIP).
There is no fairness or justice in this company.
Even though Coupang is full of these dark sides, I still want to thank Kevin, Jade, Lion, Summer, Yu, Max, Hao, Feng, Lionel, Zhang and many others.
Thanks to your help and cooperation, we were able to see a little light even in the dark Coupang.
Lastly, I would like to end this email with a quote from former employee Daniel Jee:
“Not a place for me.”
Goodbye, Dark Coupang.
After fighting with HR for 14 months, I too have gained some experience.
If you are experiencing disgusting pressure from HR to quit your job or a stock option tax dispute, please contact us.
We will provide you with free strategic and legal support.
Phone & WeChat: (hidden)
Best regards,
Adore Chen
FDS Service
. Ta-da.
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