The front-line employees of Chinese manufacturing companies have suffered pay cuts, frequently triggering a “tide of departures”.
Over the years, manufacturing has been the core of China’s economic development, relying on the huge scale of manufacturing, China has become the world’s second-largest economy, the third-largest military power, and the world’s super factory.
Earlier, China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology said that during the 13th Five-Year Plan, the value-added of China’s industry increased from 23.5 trillion yuan to 31.3 trillion yuan, ranking first in the world for 11 consecutive years. It is reported that China’s manufacturing industry will contribute nearly 30% to the world manufacturing industry during the 13th Five-Year Plan.
But on the other hand, despite the high status of China’s current manufacturing industry, China’s manufacturing sector seems to have become more and more “difficult”. It is not difficult to find that many manufacturing enterprises and related enterprises in China have fallen into negative growth, and the ensuing problem is that – employee wages will also be reduced accordingly.
So why are many Chinese manufacturing companies caught in business difficulties?
As we all know, in the context of the gradual disappearance of China’s demographic dividend and rising prices, many manufacturing companies that used to pile up in the country have moved to countries like Vietnam or Thailand, so that a large number of manufacturing orders will be transferred with them.
As a result, this phenomenon will keep the income of frontline employees in Chinese manufacturing companies low, ultimately leading to a high turnover of frontline production employees. Growing company demand and higher employee turnover form a pair of sharp contradictions, how to reduce the increase in the turnover rate of front-line employees has become a pressing problem in today’s manufacturing industry of China.
In fact, many experts believe that the phenomenon that leads to the frequent departure of front-line employees in China’s manufacturing sector, salary decline is only one of the reasons, and the following three factors are also very critical.
First, the rising cost of living in China.
In the past few years when housing prices in China have soared, everyone has truly felt a serious problem: the majority of migrant workers face rising prices and continued rigid expenditures on housing, education, medical care, and pensions when their incomes are hopeless. Moreover, a reduction in income will lead to a reduction in consumer spending, which will further worsen the future economic prospects and cause income and employment to continue to shrink in China.
Second, fewer development opportunities for front-line employees in China’s manufacturing sector.
For a long time, many Chinese young people are reluctant to engage in manufacturing-related work because there is simply no room for growth in this line of work and no hope for the future.
For example, many Chinese manufacturing companies are still stuck in the original “master and apprentice” model. Under this kind of rule-based background, it is difficult for young people to innovate; in addition, engaging in manufacturing-related work is very boring, not to mention the young people, even the older people can not stand it, which is also the reason why front-line employees leave frequently.
Third, serious “nepotism” in Chinese manufacturing enterprises.
People who work in factories know that many managers of manufacturing enterprises in China are basically the boss’s various relatives. And the phenomenon of “nepotism” undoubtedly makes it difficult for these Chinese enterprises to make great progress and development, while even if they have the ability, it is difficult for new employees to be reused, which has caused a vicious circle.
Therefore, if the Chinese manufacturing sector wants to solve the serious problem of front-line employee turnover, it needs to change from the above aspects. Only by truly treating employees well and establishing a good selection and promotion mechanism can they convince the employees.
Source: Chen San