Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is slashing its campus recruitment quota, according to China Daily.

The publication reports the company originally announced it was to recruit 3,000 new graduates but according to its recruitment site, that number was to “shrink due to changes in the group's talent strategy”.

The online retailer said it had already made 1,407 employment offers and was likely to offer another several hundred based on potential candidates’ test results. 

The firm reportedly denied it had taken a hit from the economic slowdown, saying its payroll was already too large.