TMTPOST —Alibaba Group is restructuring its compensation package by incorporating the traditional 13th-month salary into the year-end bonus effective from fiscal year 2027, renaming the component as the “Shoulder to Shoulder Award” that will be paid alongside the performance-based year-end award in April or May. The adjustment, which applies to formal employees working in Chinese mainland, will split the year-end bonus into two separate parts: the Shoulder to Shoulder Year Award and the Performance Year Award. Due to the shift from calendar-year to fiscal-year cycles, the first Shoulder to Shoulder Year Award will be issued in the 2027 bonus payment month, with eligible employees who remained on duty from January 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, receiving 1.25 months of the award. This change reflects Alibaba’s efforts to streamline compensation structures and align incentives more closely with fiscal performance. It comes as the company continues to optimize costs and talent management amid evolving business priorities in China’s competitive technology sector.