Recently, Fenbi (HKEX: 02469) published several "essays" in succession, bringing the talent war and price involution in the civil service exam training industry fully into the open. Behind the commercial battle, it is understood that Fenbi has been pushing forward a new round of staff optimization over the past few months, covering multiple positions including teachers, research and development, and marketing. Some employees revealed that "the entire department was notified of layoffs on Monday and handled departures on Tuesday." Other employees reported being told during maternity leave that their department was being dissolved, saying, "I feel very uneasy now. When I return from maternity leave, will they use indirect means to force me out?"

In addition, with the cancellation of non-compete agreements, a group of Fenbi's star teachers left one after another, with some already joining institutions such as Sihai and Shang'an Village. In the first half of 2026, Fenbi suffered its first loss since going public. Financial report data shows that Fenbi's revenue in the first half of 2026 was 1.248 billion yuan, down 16.3% year on year, with a net loss of 184 million yuan. Zhang Xiaolong's失控 remarks in June this year, including "people who take civil service exams are all just muddling along waiting to die," are also believed to have intensified Fenbi's operating pressure. Many employees believe Zhang Xiaolong's remarks caused Fenbi's reputation to plummet, asking, "He acts willfully, and we pay the price?"

Half the department cut in June, more cuts continue in September

It is understood that while continuously publishing "essays," Fenbi has advanced a new round of staff optimization in recent months, with adjustments covering cities such as Changchun and Harbin and involving multiple positions including teachers, research and development, and marketing. A Fenbi employee told that on Sunday night a leader sent a notice requiring them to come to the company the next day; on Monday morning the entire department was laid off, and on Tuesday they handled departure procedures. "This round of layoffs was too sudden. Everyone was stunned." Another Fenbi employee revealed that their small-class teaching team had already cut half in June, and in early September they received another round of layoff notices. In addition, another Fenbi employee reported being told during maternity leave that the department was being dissolved and the existing position directly canceled, after which HR interviewed them and negotiated a departure compensation plan. The employee clearly stated they did not accept it. When communicating again a few days later, HR changed its wording, saying it had only been a preliminary understanding of personal intentions and not a notice of termination of the labor contract. "I feel very uneasy now. If I return to work after maternity leave, will they use forced transfers, pay cuts, or marginalization to force me out in disguise?" the employee said.

In fact, Fenbi's employee scale has continued to shrink in recent years. Financial report data shows that as of the end of June 2026, Fenbi had 5,963 employees in total, compared with 7,005 at the end of 2025, a decrease of 1,042 in half a year, or 14.9%. In its financial report, Fenbi also clearly pointed out that proactively optimizing its employee structure and paying severance costs is an important source of pressure on the cost side. In the first half of 2026, Fenbi's cost of revenue increased from 686 million yuan in the same period of 2025 to 726 million yuan. Regarding issues such as staff optimization and compensation plans, Fenbi was asked for comment, but had not responded as of publication.

Star teachers leave, competitors poach with high salaries

In the process of staff optimization, the departure of teachers, especially star teachers, has attracted much attention, and this is also the focus of the recent long-distance "feud" between Fenbi and its peers. In the article "Who Is the Conscience of the Civil Service Exam Training Industry," Fenbi itself disclosed that Sihai poached its interview teacher with an annual salary of more than 2 million yuan. According to an incomplete count, in the past two months, Fenbi star teachers such as Deng Jian, Li Mengyuan, Wang Jiyan, Zhao Bo, and Guo Xi have all left. Among them, some teachers joined Fenbi's competitors after leaving, such as Sihai and Shang'an Village. Speaking about the job-hopping of Fenbi's star teachers, a Fenbi employee said that Fenbi canceled non-compete agreements and no longer restricted teachers. But the employee also stressed, "Teaching and research haven't really changed. Fenbi itself relies on teaching and research, not on teachers. After all, teachers flow like water, while the camp remains ironclad." The employee also mentioned that Fenbi's layoffs involved a group of online class teachers, "because sales of online premium classes haven't been particularly good in recent years, their current workload is very low, competition is getting fiercer, and other institutions' prices are getting lower and lower." Financial report data shows that as of the end of 2025, Fenbi had 2,870 full-time teachers, while by the end of June 2026 only 2,154 remained, a decrease of 716 full-time teachers in half a year, a drop of more than 20%.

The impact of the large-scale loss of core teaching staff quickly spread to the student side. On social platforms, the number of complaints about Fenbi has risen significantly, with many examinees complaining about frequent teacher changes and uneven teaching quality. On the Black Cat Complaint platform, a student's family member said that in May this year they bought a Fenbi premium base class course for 21,600 yuan, and the salesperson promised during communication that the teaching staff would be stable and the class would remain unchanged. However, after the course began, teachers changed frequently, and each teacher had a different approach to explaining questions. "The course purchase agreement explicitly states that teachers may not be changed at will, and the sales pitch's 'stable teaching staff' also涉嫌 false advertising."

Yuanfudao's Li Yong still holds 11.6%

Behind the layoffs and the departure of star teachers is the pressure on Fenbi's performance. Financial report data shows that in the first half of 2026, Fenbi achieved revenue of 1.248 billion yuan, down 16.3% year on year; gross profit of 522 million yuan, down 35.2% year on year; and a net loss of 184 million yuan, its first loss since listing in 2023, compared with a net profit of 227 million yuan in the same period last year. Specifically, in the first half of 2026, Fenbi's training service revenue was 1.0686 billion yuan, down 17.5% year on year; book sales and other revenue was 179.7 million yuan, down 8.8% year on year. In its financial report, Fenbi explained that the decline in training service revenue was mainly due to a decrease in the number of positions offered by China's civil service exams and intensified competition in the training industry.

Demand for civil service exams has not actually cooled. Data shows that in 2026, the number of people passing qualification review for the national civil service exam reached 3.718 million, but the recruitment scale shrank, and the application-to-admission ratio hit a record high. However, amid industry price involution, Fenbi's traffic has gradually been divided among institutions such as Chaoge and Sihai, and its App monthly active users also fell from 9.1 million at the end of 2025 to 8.5 million at the end of June 2026. Speaking about course prices, the aforementioned Fenbi employee said, "The price of the AI question practice class is about the same as last year, but there are many more books, with more quantity at the same price. The 980 yuan premium class has returned to the price of 2023 and 2024; for a period before, it was 1,080 yuan, and now it has come down again."

In discussions about Fenbi's layoffs, the lecture incident involving former Fenbi CEO Zhang Xiaolong at Renmin University is also believed to have intensified Fenbi's operating pressure. In June 2026, Zhang Xiaolong lost control of his emotions during a lecture, continuously insulting students present for several minutes, and made remarks such as "You deserve not to find jobs; society should not give you jobs" and "people who take civil service exams are all just muddling along waiting to die," before leaving angrily. After the incident, many Fenbi students called for a boycott and refunds on social media. Some views also hold that Zhang Xiaolong's remarks directly offended a large number of potential customers. The day after the lecture, Fenbi's stock price fell sharply, and Zhang Xiaolong issued a letter of apology.

Fenbi's predecessor, "Fenbi Wang," was founded in 2012 by Li Yong, founder of Yuanfudao. It was initially positioned as an education community platform, and its civil service exam and professional exam business was subsequently integrated into the Yuanfudao system and developed under the Fenbi brand. In 2013, Zhang Xiaolong joined Yuanfudao and later took full charge of the business. In 2015, Fenbi was spun off into a new entity and began independent operations, when Li Yong still served as Fenbi's chairman. At the end of 2020, Yuanfudao completely withdrew from the shareholder ranks, and only then did Fenbi achieve true equity independence. However, in December 2024, Li Yong resigned as a non-executive director of Fenbi and withdrew from the board; in May 2026, Li Yong terminated the concerted action relationship with Zhang Xiaolong and Wei Liang, ending a "binding" state that had lasted for years. But the imprint of the Yuanfudao system has not completely faded. As of June 2026, Li Yong still indirectly held about 11.6% of Fenbi's equity. In July 2026, Fenbi announced that Zhang Xiaolong resigned from positions including executive director, CEO, and chairman of the board, and former Fenbi vice president Sheng Haiyan took over. Zhang Xiaolong's departure is also seen by the outside world as a key step for Fenbi to cut its binding with his personal remarks and reshape the company's brand image.