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China's auto industry faces pay cut and layoff in 2009

By Li Fangfang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-22 15:39

Nearly half of China's car manufacturers are planning to cut salaries and discharge employees in 2009 to cope with the market downturn amid the financial crisis, a survey said on Dec 22.

Foreseeing a further stagnation in auto sales in the first half of 2009, 71.4 percent of the domestically-listed auto companies polled said they will reduce their production volume while 42.9 percent are considering pay cuts and layoffs, said the survey conducted by Security Times.

About 70 percent of the carmakers believed that the diving demand amid the weakening economy around the globe would deal a heavy blow to the market in 2009, as shrinking exports and increasing costs will drag down sales.

However, although 42.9 percent of the auto producers said the raw material cost increased by more than 10 percent in 2008 from last year, all the interviewed manufacturers believed costs would drop again in 2009 but only by less than 10 percent, the survey said.