Editor’s Note: This article, translated from wenxuecity.com details the changing job landscape for Chinese graduates, and the increasing difficulties they face. The article cites mass layoffs and glass ceilings as reasons for the decline in job opportunities, as well as increased competition from recent graduates.

Xiao Ze (a pseudonym) had originally wanted to work for IBM for life. When he was young, he loved the company and said that he enjoyed hearing his bosses talk about: “Big Blue,” - the nickname that analysts had given the company. His bosses would say that the company’s annual research and development funds were equal to the GDP of a small country, and so on. At the time, everyone at IBM subconsciously believed that their company was changing the entire world. They were proud to work at IBM. “In all fairness, IBM’s salaries are not that competitive within the industry, but at the same time IBM employees put their blood, sweat and tears into their work. It is part of the company’s culture.” Xiaoze believes, “I learned a lot working at IBM, and even though I was ultimately laid off, I do not regret working there.”

Earlier, in the beginning of the year, IBM made waves in the industry by beginning a round of massive layoff, after it was bought by an IT company. The layoffs were internally known as the “Apollo program.” According to former IBM employees, IBM’s layoffs were on a global scale and affected “at least 1.3 million people.” Those who were laid off were given an N+3 compensation package. Xiaoze choose to leave the company during this round of layoffs.

Xiaoze started a job at a new company on October 1. Many of his former colleagues also began work at new companies. Some of them had also chosen to leave IBM as Xiaoze did. Xiaoze revealed that IBM had given them three options: The first option was to choose to stay until the end of their contract and be incorporated into the new IBM system. The second option was a one-time buy out, in which employees switched to a new company and their contracts were recalculated. The third option was to choose to leave the company and be given the “N+3” compensation plan. “Next I would have preferred to work in a foreign company, especially an American company,” said Xiaoze.

He believes that he has already adapted to the culture and environment of foreign companies and that communication isn’t an obstacle. If a person stays in one place and gets used to it, it is difficult for them to change. However, he acknowledged that, “It is harder and harder to work for foreign companies; many companies, like IBM, are downsizing. And other than the civil service, working for state-owned enterprises or domestic enterprises, working for a foreign company is one of the first choices for college graduates.”

Increasing Layoffs
From 2012 onwards, foreign firms have had an increasing number of layoffs. Now, because of this, working for a foreign company is no longer the first choice for many university students. In July 2012, Nokia announced that they would shut down two regional sales centers in China. Shortly after that, HP announced that they would lay off 2.7 million employees within the next two years. In August, Motorola announced that its staff would be reduced by 4,000 employees.

Lu Pingfang, a sales person who has worked in foreign companies for many years, believes: “When foreign businesses become too large they begin to slow down. The company becomes too cumbersome and performance is affected. There are too many departments involved. There is a joke that you usually never see the leadership in these companies until something needs to be approved. Then, all of the sudden, they will emerge.”

A Difficult Circle to Break
In recent years, there has been high staff turnover rates for foreign enterprises in China. Companies are unable to retain talent. In a foreign company in China, nationality decides how high a position you can reach.

There is a popular classic argument that says that if a foreign company is a five story building, then the people working on each floor are different. People native to the company’s own country are on the fifth floor, foreigners from other countries work on the fourth floor, and Overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia work on the third floor. The second floor is for overseas returnees with experience working in the company’s headquarters and Chinese workers with government connections. These are the so-called Chinese executives of the foreign company. The first floor is comprised of Chinese local employees.

Because of this setup, everyone can see that there are different ceilings for promotions within foreign companies, and furthermore, everyone is used to being able to easily jump from Foreign Company A to Foreign Company B and then use that as a path to get to Foreign Company C – like George Clooney in the film “Up in the Air”- a ‘career transitions expert’ with a platinum card flying all over the place. When David graduated from university he joined a foreign company. He spent 20 years in these circles and had a 20 year career in foreign companies. Within these 20 years he quit and jumped to other companies countless times.

“Once you were in the circle of foreign companies, it used to be generally difficult to leave,” said one employee. “A considerable number of my colleagues came to work in small foreign companies after being laid off; it’s comfortable, but it was a last resort because there are no positions in large foreign companies.”

Castles in the Air
After years of ups and downs, many employees on the front lines have begun to realize that having a decent life working for a foreign company abroad is merely a castle in the air. Furthermore, if foreign employees leave the company they work in, all of the perks they receive vanish into thin air. They can no longer look down at the bustling streets from the window of a CBD skyscraper while enjoying a cup of coffee, nor enjoy decadent breakfasts from five star hotels. If you become used to a comfortable lifestyle, then fate takes it away from you, you can easily find yourself at a loss. 

Lu Pingfang noted that, “Once you work for a big well-known foreign company, you begin to think that small companies are not good enough. You do not want to work for them.” He added that, “It is always easy for people to move upwards, but if you are heading downhill, this can be unbearable.

Source: wenxuecity.com

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