In a move to enhance competitiveness, China's monopolized trades have started cutting down the employed in large number. Quite a number of personnel employed in the so-called "Iron Bowl" sectors of the past begin to be on tenterhooks too as they are worrying that the bad luck of unemployment will fall over their heads one of these days.
According to an article published in the official magazine Outlook Weekly, Sino-chem, the large-sized enterprise in China will see a cutting-down of 1.2 million of its employee. The enterprise, ChinaPetro, which planted itself on the 58th place of the 500 powers of the "Fortune" in the year 2000, will realize a cutting-down of 20,000 heads this year as planned, which is part of the 100,000 cuts-down from the company prior to the year 2005.
China will soon enter the international capital market, expressed Li Yizhong, general manager of Sino-chem Group. The inland enterprises have to strengthen their competitiveness and by trying every means possible to enlarge the margin of profit-revenue and so it is unavoidable to cut down the employed in large number or in other words, knocking off to be shifted to other sectors.
For quite a long time in China whoever gets a job in the banking business means to have an "Iron Bowl" in hand. The bank personnel enjoy a relatively lighter work yet with an income topping all other trades. Now they come to find that the "Iron Bowl" is no longer being "iron" at all, which has now been washed in tides and ebbs. Statistics indicate, in a time of three years from 1998 to 2000, the total number of commercial banks in China had seen 2284 being reduced, a decrease of 15 percent.
Among them, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is planned to cut down 30,000 employee in the year 2002, accounting for seven percent of the total employee, however, the ultimate number of the employed is set at 400,000 but this was some 570,000 two years ago. Moreover, the news said, the Bank of China, following a close-up of 141 branch offices last year with a total of 5200 heads reduced, will see a further close-down of 80 branch offices this year with its employee to cut down by 5000.
It is unavoidable to knock off the employee, said deputy head of a bank. Suppose to be at my post I always feel the jeopardy of my work and have to work very conscientiously and carefully. However, what is unexpected is that the process would come to us so fast that I couldn't imagine what kind of jobs those people already left their posts can find later on.
Confronted with the present situation of big swelling yet of low efficiency in the banking business in China, especially in the large-sized state-owned banks, the cutting-down of the employee will continue to be carried on still further, experts predicted. And even the insurance business will eventually fall into the whirlpool.
(People's Daily June 8, 2002)
