Several workers told The Epoch Times their factories were abruptly shut down recently, while others say they have not been paid for months.
Tens of thousands of workers in China have not received their full salaries, or have not been paid for months, employees across several sectors told The Epoch Times.
In April and early May, dozens of protests flared up, with unpaid or underpaid workers demanding wages or benefits owed to them.
Some workers alleged that their employers recently shut down factories and disappeared. In other instances, employers allegedly withheld salaries or benefits for several months.
Between April 1 and May 21, the blog Yesterday, which is a clearinghouse of information about protests in China, has published videos of more than 60 pay-related protests and strikes across 21 provinces and municipalities, as well as on Chinese construction sites in Indonesia.
Those involved in the disputes are from a broad range of sectors, including automotive, construction, property, mining, electronics, pharmaceuticals, medical, textile, leisure, and government.
Auto Sector
Electric vehicle manufacturer Neta Auto, once a rising star in China’s auto industry, has been paying only half of its employees’ wages since September 2024 and has unilaterally cut their salaries, according to one worker.
He and the other individuals interviewed by the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times remain anonymous throughout the article because of potential reprisal from authorities.
“I only received half of my salary for September and October [2024], and from November, I received half of the lowered salaries,” the worker said.
“I was paid 2,690 yuan [about $373] a month, that’s the minimum salary in Shanghai. Some 2,000 yuan is definitely not enough, and it’s difficult to find employment now.”
The worker noted that “in the auto industry, at least in Shanghai, factories are all laying people off—no one is hiring.”
He added that employees didn’t agree to the pay cuts or any delayed payment of their salaries, and that the management has been pressuring people to resign.
An open letter from 6,000 Neta Auto employees, published on Chinese social media WeChat on April 30, said the company owed each worker an average of more than 100,000 yuan (about $13,850) and that it told local authorities that it was paying full salaries in order to claim financial support. The letter alleged that management had encouraged employees to buy company stocks but had embezzled the funds.
The workers demanded full payment of their wages plus compensation. Other demands included an investigation into the company by the authorities in Zhejiang.
Neta is an electric car brand of Shanghai-headquartered carmaker Hozon Auto.
In 2022, Neta was the best-selling brand among the so-called new powers in China’s automaking industry, with more than 152,000 cars sold during the year, according to Anhui Business Daily. However, the newspaper said the company’s low-pricing strategy meant that it was not making a profit and had lost 18.3 billion yuan between 2021 and 2023.
In 2024, the company sold 64,500 cars, according to Chinese media outlets that cited the China Automobile Dealers Association. This January, fewer than 200 cars were sold.
On April 15, Yesterday posted a video on social media platform X that contained a description saying that Neta dealers across China had gathered at its factory in Zhejiang for at least a week, urging the carmaker to fulfill its obligations.
Neta’s situation was also widely reported by Chinese media outlets, which said that dealers were demanding compensation because they had not received cars that had already been ordered and paid for, and couldn’t get parts to maintain services to Neta car owners.
According to information published on the National Enterprise Bankruptcy Information Disclosure Platform, Shanghai Yuxing Advertising agency filed a bankruptcy review application against Hozon Auto in mid-May.
The Epoch Times was unable to reach Hozon for comment.
By Lily Zhou
