In his endorsement, Xue Zhiqian claimed Gionee phones were 'absolutely great,' but in 2018, Gionee couldn't seem to get better. According to Southern Metropolis Daily, Gionee is facing an unprecedented cash flow crisis, with suppliers taking it to court, assets frozen, and debts reaching 10 billion yuan. Of course, as is often the case, when a company is in crisis, it must cut its losses, making 'layoffs' the HR department's most important task. Gionee is laying off 50% of its staff The final act of kindness is a dignified separation Despite the cash flow crisis, Gionee, which needs to lay off 50% of its staff, has still provided a layoff plan that satisfies employees: through consultation and agreement with employees, without threats or deception, laid-off employees will be compensated according to the 'N+1' standard. According to Article 36 of the Labor Contract Law: An employer and a worker may terminate the labor contract upon consultation and agreement. Article 46 stipulates that the employer shall pay economic compensation to the worker in the following circumstances: where the employer proposes to terminate the labor contract in accordance with Article 36 of this Law and terminates it upon consultation and agreement with the worker. In other words, the company and the employee can terminate the labor contract by mutual agreement, and whether compensation is paid depends on who proposed it: if the employer proposed it, economic compensation must be paid; if the employee proposed it, the employer may not pay economic compensation. Gionee, by consulting with employees and paying compensation, acted legally and reasonably, and the 'N+1' standard is exactly as stipulated by law, not a penny less: Article 47 of the Labor Contract Law stipulates: Economic compensation shall be paid to the worker based on the number of years worked for the employer, at the rate of one month's wage for each full year. For periods of six months or more but less than one year, it shall be calculated as one year; for periods less than six months, half a month's wage shall be paid as economic compensation. Even when the company faces financial difficulties, Gionee's layoffs strive to be legal and reasonable, putting employees' interests first. Even in separation, it aims to be dignified. Some might say that legal layoffs are nothing special. But don't forget, many companies' layoffs are also 'legal,' yet they are hard for anyone to accept. The tricks of disguised layoffs Bad companies have a thousand reasons for separation Why is 'legal layoff' so valuable? Mainly because disguised layoffs are common. At the beginning of 2018, news spread online that a certain company (note: the company name can be seen from the official seal) laid off 95% of its staff. Most employees lost their jobs just before the Chinese New Year, and possibly also lost the year-end bonus they had worked for all year. But this company's layoff tactics were much more sophisticated than Gionee's: transferring positions, adjusting salaries, changing work locations, to force you to leave. Is such a layoff legal? The Labor Contract Law stipulates that the company can unilaterally transfer positions in the following three situations: 1. If the worker is ill or injured for non-work reasons and cannot perform the original job after the prescribed medical treatment period; 2. If the worker is not competent for the job; 3. If the enterprise undergoes production transformation, major technological innovation, or adjustment of business methods. This company transferred positions according to the third situation, and after the transfer, 'salary follows the position,' so it naturally reduced salaries, and within one day, you had to go to a position thousands of miles away. If you were the employee, what could you do? Arbitration? It's time-consuming and you might not win; not arbitrating? You'd feel wronged. Either way, you'd end up leaving reluctantly. Bad companies always have a thousand reasons to make you leave. They add work for pregnant employees, make logistics staff do sales, or even change offices at the drop of a hat... As long as they don't have to pay compensation, they'll try any trick. Now, do you still think it's nothing special that debt-ridden Gionee laid off staff according to the legal compensation standard? In every layoff notice Lies a company's character If you've been an HR for a long time, you'll definitely notice a phenomenon: when the company is doing well, everything is fine; when the company is doing poorly, various labor disputes arise. Is it that employees can only share prosperity but not hardship? Research has seen many companies that throw money around when they're rich, but when they're short on cash, they reduce benefits appropriately, and employees don't constantly file for arbitration. But if the company is short on money and wants to take away employees' jobs without paying a cent, then sorry, arbitration is the way to go, since filing a complaint doesn't cost anything. Society is realistic: if you treat me with kindness, I'll treat you with loyalty, whether between people or between a company and its employees. Especially when layoffs involve major employee interests, companies that want to dismiss employees at zero cost often end up tying themselves in knots, not solving the problem and damaging their reputation. The numbers on the layoff notice may look like company costs, but they also reflect the company's character. Even when facing operational difficulties, it's unwilling to treat employees who have worked hard poorly. When a company dares to take responsibility for employees who are about to leave, perhaps that's when it can rise from the ashes. -END-