Asia Tech Wire (June 13) -- Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (GAC Group)'s electric vehicle unit Aion has called the police over rumors of 20% layoffs.
Earlier media reports claimed that Aion's business entity, GAC Aion, would lay off 20% of its workforce and that all divisions of the company would lay off 20% of their staff.
A GAC Aion source said on Tuesday that laying off 20% of the workforce was fake news and that "this one is obviously a malicious smear and defamation campaign."
Meanwhile, a screenshot of an email titled "GAC Aion Campus Recruitment Termination Notice" has been circulating on Chinese social media platforms.
The email revealed that in line with the adjustments in its recruitment policy, the company is terminating the tripartite/party agreements it has entered into with fresh graduates.
And GAC Aion will pay 5,000 yuan in liquidated damages to the terminated graduates as agreed.
The company said on Wednesday that it had hired 118 fresh graduates and only a single digit number of freshers had suffered adjustments, for whom it would make compensation.
A source from GAC Aion's branding department also responded that the industry is currently cutting costs and increasing efficiency, and that the company will fine-tune individual positions due to structural adjustments in departments.
As for the termination of agreements with fresh graduates, the person explained that this is mainly due to the company's lack of demand for employees in related professions.
GAC Aion released a statement late Wednesday, saying, "Recently, online platforms appeared part of false information and malicious rumors about GAC Aion layoffs, intensive termination of agreements with fresh graduates, triggering misinterpretation in the market and affecting the company's reputation."
In order to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, the company said it had formally reported the case to public security authorities on the same day and would pursue legal responsibility for the rumor mongers in accordance with the law.
GAC Aion's May sales were 30,420 units, down 32.21% year-on-year, while cumulative sales in the first five months of the year totaled 100,637 units, down 38.71% year-on-year.
