Editorial Team
Featured Photo: Charlie439753 via Wikimedia Commons
A company in China moved from a downtown business district to a remote mountain range, allegedly so its employees would quit and they wouldn’t have to pay them.
One former employee, Chang, described a two-hour commute and limited transportation options to the new office in the Qinling Mountains.
“My colleagues without vehicles had to rely on a bus that ran every three hours and then walk another three kilometres [1.86 miles] through mountainous paths to reach the office,” a former worker named Chang told South China Morning Post.
The company also refused to subsidize employee’s travel expenses, and Chang detailed very poor working conditions.
“He said female employees had to use public toilets in the nearest village, which was a ‘long walk’ away.”
The commute home was also a problem, as stray dogs would follow people at night.
Following a failed staff uprising, 14 of the company’s 20+ employees quit their jobs.
Then, just a few days later, the company returned to its former location in Xi’An, a city in China’s Shaanxi province, and started hiring new people.
According to company officials, the temporary move was made to reduce expenses. One company exec went so far as to threaten a lawsuit against its former employees for damaging their reputation.
“The Central Business District rent was high, and the new office was being renovated. We were operating a homestay, so we temporarily moved there for a week,” the company executive told South Morning China Post.
Employees countered this argument, claiming they were told the move could last until next year.
The name of the business has not been made public, but according to SCMP, it’s an advertising company.
