BEIJING, Sept 13 (Askume) – BYD Electric Vehicle Co Ltd (002594.SZ) has significantly boosted hiring, pushing its headcount to over 900,000 as of Friday, a senior BYD manager said, making the Chinese electric car giant one of the biggest employers in China.
The move comes as the Chinese government prioritizes creating more jobs, particularly for college graduates, as the economy continues to slow.
Li Yunfei, BYD’s general manager of brand and public relations, posted on Weibo that BYD’s total number of employees had increased by 5.8% since the end of August, making it the largest employer among more than 5,300 Chinese listed companies.
Li Keqiang said BYD is the automaker with the largest number of R&D personnel in the world, with about 110,000 technical and R&D personnel. He said the company has hired about 50,000 new graduates in the past two years.
Lee did not provide details about the appointment, including the location.
this years,Record numbers of college graduates are looking for work in a labor market that is stressed by disruptions caused by Covid-19 and regulatory crackdowns on the nation’s financial, technology and education sectors.
The unemployment rate among about 100 million Chinese youths aged 16-24 rose to a 2024 high of 17.1% in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
BYD, along with other domestic giants such as online retailer JD.com (9618.HK) , is one of the few major companies to engage in large-scale recruitment drives.
Other automakers, particularly foreign brands, are cutting jobs as sales in China plummet. Askume reported in March that SAIC and its joint venture partners Volkswagen and General Motors plan to cut double-digit layoffs this year, while Honda Motor Co.It plans to layoff workers from its two joint ventures in China this year.
BYD said in its latest financial report that as of June 30, it had about 750,000 employees, and total employee costs in the first six months accounted for 17.54% of its revenue.
Askume calculated that the average cost per person per month during this period was equivalent to 11,700 yuan ($1,649.28).
The company did not immediately respond to a Askume inquiry whether the numbers in the earnings report were the same as those shared by Lee on Friday.
BYD’s net profit improved in the second quarter, even as the company waged a long-running price war by offering deep discounts on its best-selling models.
(1 USD = 7.0940 RMB)
