Citizen calls time on Guangzhou factory
Print Edition
A WATCH parts factory in south China’s Guangdong Province was closed and work switched to Thailand in a search for greater productivity, its Japanese owners said yesterday.
Citizen Holdings Co Ltd said at least 90 percent of the 1,042 workers at Citizen Precision Guangzhou Ltd had signed release contracts.
However, 74 workers are refusing to sign since the decision to shut down production on February 5 had not been announced in advance. Citizen said it did not do so to avoid affecting production.
Company spokesman Yamada Yukio said yesterday: “The reason for closing the factory was partly due to our production line being switched to Thailand. Also it’s a part of Citizen Holdings’ strategies to restructure overseas businesses to increase productivity.”
He said the company gained permission to dismiss its workers from the Labor and Social Security Bureau and the Guangzhou Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau.
Yamada said the decision was made ahead of the Spring Festival holiday as it would be “easier for workers to find another one in the job-hunting season after the vacation.”
Wang Jiangsong, an analyst at the China Institute of Industrial Relations, said China’s Labor Contract Law says companies should start talks with employee representatives a month in advance of any change that would lead to the dismissal of 20 workers or more.
Officials in Guangzhou’s Huadu District, which confirmed that the company had been given permission to dismiss workers, said it would be keeping an eye on Citizen’s follow-up work and providing arbitration channels for both sides if necessary.
Citizen’s Thai subsidiary — Citizen Watch Manufacturing Thailand Co — was established in 2011 due to increasing demand in developing countries and it plans to employ around 1,000 workers by next year, according to Citizen’s website.
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