Abrupt closure of Guangzhou Citizen causes huge job loss in China

Workers wait outside the office building of Japanese watch maker Citizen in Guangzhou, Feb 5, 2015. [Photo/thepaper.cn]

(ECNS) -- More than 1,000 employees lost their jobs after the sudden closure of Citizen Precision (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., a production base for Japanese watch brand Citizen, Beijing Times reported on Monday.

The company informed all staff of its closure on Feb 5, leaving employees who had been working a day earlier jobless.

Pictures uploaded on microblogging site Sina Weibo showed workers gathered in Huadu, Guangzhou appealing for their rights to be protected. The chairman of the company's trade union meanwhile claims to know nothing about it.

A representative of a PR corporation employed by Citizen said the shutdown is part of the company's reorganization of its overseas production system.

Workers were told about the closure at such short notice because Citizen did not want to disrupt normal operations, it was added.

Citizen said each worker would receive a redundancy package consisting of one month's salary and economic compensation based on the number of years they have worked at the company.

Wang Songjiang, a researcher with the China Institute of Industrial Relations, commented that the company is breaking the Labor Contract Law, which states that an employer should inform the trade union and employees one month in advance of such action, if the number of employees to be laid off equals or exceeds 20.

A representative of the local human resources and social security bureau said workers could file lawsuits if they do not agree with the company's compensation plan.