BYD said to lay off 70% of sales staff
By Jin Jing |
August 31, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BYD Co is reported to lay off 70 percent of staff working at its auto sales unit following a plunge in sales this year amid stiff competition.
The battery and car manufacturer, backed by United States billionaire Warren Buffett, plans to cut the workforce at the sales unit to 800 from 2,600, according to a post from an unidentified laid-off employee on the Weibo.com microblogging site.
Initially about 1,000 employees will lose their jobs. Some members of the sales teams have already been dismissed and others transferred to assembling plants, the post said, adding that the job cuts may also spread to other departments.
The company is transferring personnel but it is "normal activity" undertaken to improve service and enhance efficiency, the carmaker admitted in a statement yesterday without being specific.
Shenzhen-based BYD's profit plunged 89 percent annually to 275 million yuan (US$43 million) in the first half of this year. Its vehicle sales reversed 23 percent annually to 220,131 units during January to June because demand for its F3 sedan and F0 compact waned.
"BYD had been quite aggressive in expanding production and hiring employees," said independent analyst Zhong Shi. "But the drop in sales and profit slump have triggered higher pressure on cost and so job cuts are inevitable."
BYD's sales were dented after the government ended purchase incentives. Its sales were also hurt after General Motors and Volkswagen rolled out price-competitive entry-level models.
The battery and car manufacturer, backed by United States billionaire Warren Buffett, plans to cut the workforce at the sales unit to 800 from 2,600, according to a post from an unidentified laid-off employee on the Weibo.com microblogging site.
Initially about 1,000 employees will lose their jobs. Some members of the sales teams have already been dismissed and others transferred to assembling plants, the post said, adding that the job cuts may also spread to other departments.
The company is transferring personnel but it is "normal activity" undertaken to improve service and enhance efficiency, the carmaker admitted in a statement yesterday without being specific.
Shenzhen-based BYD's profit plunged 89 percent annually to 275 million yuan (US$43 million) in the first half of this year. Its vehicle sales reversed 23 percent annually to 220,131 units during January to June because demand for its F3 sedan and F0 compact waned.
"BYD had been quite aggressive in expanding production and hiring employees," said independent analyst Zhong Shi. "But the drop in sales and profit slump have triggered higher pressure on cost and so job cuts are inevitable."
BYD's sales were dented after the government ended purchase incentives. Its sales were also hurt after General Motors and Volkswagen rolled out price-competitive entry-level models.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
