BEIJING - To Chinese “white collars”, the financial crisis is no longer breaking news, but rather a daily routine.

There is a “list” that is being circulated via email around the Internet in cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen.  The list contains the names of 22 international companies, 40 large and medium-sized local companies and 116 small, local companies. According to the rumors, these companies will be the first to layoff staff on a large scale.

Meanwhile, another BBS post/email warns “white collars” on “Ten Things You Can and Can’t Do” (translated below) which has become very popular online.

On the morning of November 2, Wang Qiang, who is an employee of GE in Shanghai, received an email from his brother, Wang Gang, who works for Intel. The email was originally sent by Zhun Jun, who works for the China Construction Bank.

The email contained detailed information about 22 international companies which had already or planned to layoff staff. The email pointed out that a biopharmaceutical company doing anticarcinogen research had already laid off all employees in the operations section of its Shanghai Puxi branch in September. The email writer claimed that its Shanghai Pudong branch would be closed soon. An international bank from Northern Europe was in a severe situation, too, as all its employees had already left.

The email listed forty local large and medium-sized companies which already had laid off employees or would do it soon. Among them, there were three aviation companies, several iron and steel companies and three semiconductors companies, including one from Taiwan. The He Jun Toy Factory and Bai Ling Da Electronic Technology Company, both of which had already gone bankrupt, where on the list of 116 companies.

International companies like Dell, Yahoo!, eBay, and Volkswagen AG were all on the list. Renowned companies like Alliance, China Eastern Airlines, Centaline Property Agency Limited, Ningbo Bird Co.,Ltd. and Tudou.com are listed, too. So how did the companies react?

Dell and Yahoo! had announced that layoffs had either already happened, or would happen soon.

He Jun Toy Factory and Bai Ling Da Electronic Technology Company both had recently closed.

China Eastern Airlines cut the salaries of same managerial-level staff.

Tudou.com: Rumor is Tudou.com plans to lay off 20% of its employees. The Daily Economic News reporter called the company, and it said the rumor is "nonsense".  The person said Tudou.com has no plans to lay off any staff.

Alliance: A staff in the marketing department told reporters that the company was very stable. They didn’t have any plans to dismiss employees.

Xi’an Sanwei Bio-technology Co., Ltd.: A staff from the marketing department told reporters “There are changes on the higher level. The manager in Shanghai was shifted to Hong Kong. There is a new manager in Shanghai now. However, we don’t have any plans to cut jobs.”

Ningbo Bird Company: It has been hard for the Bird Company these days. Changes in sale channels and strategic failure and made people lose faith in the company. Reporters contacted the company; the secretary of the executive said the directors were having a meeting and denied the rumor that they will sack employees.

Source:

Reporter Cao Chengyuan, Daily Economic News (Published 6 November, 2008)

Caution!  The Financial Crisis is Coming!
(Widely circulated email in translation)

Ten Things You Can and Can’t Do Now

1. Don’t quit your job. Don’t change your job. Don’t shift your industry. Don’t start your own company.
2. Prepare for a position in a different company. Help your friends look for jobs, recommend friends for positions. In case you are laid off, they will reach their hand to you.
3. Don’t ask for higher salary. Whoever gets paid more is more likely to be laid off.
4. Save! Save ! Save! Buy national debt. Don’t invest in the stock market. If you have already brought stock, even if there is a little profit, you have to sell it. Don’t wait!
5. Send money back to your parents.
6. Don’t purchase cars. Be cautious about buying property.
7. The later period of the crisis is the hardest. It hasn’t arrived yet. Don’t be over-confident that you have whethered the storm.
8. Think carefully about getting married. Don’t get divorce. Don’t try to have a baby.
9. Even if the crisis hasn’t affected your life yet, please be careful about spending money. You should spend 70% of what you spent before the crisis.
10. Be cautious using credit cards.