Japanese plant’s closure angers workers
Changing conditions in China prom pting foreign manufacturers to relocate: expert
A plant of Japanese conglomerate Nitto Denko Corp in China has sparked anger and frustration among local workers, who claimed that the company failed to offer satisfactory compensation packages for its employees after exiting the local facility in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province.
Suzhou Nitto Matex Electronics Co, which produces film products and adhesive tape, became the latest instance in a broader trend of foreign manufacturing companies shutting down plants in China amid changing business conditions, including rising labor costs in the past couple of years.
Many of the closures have sparked disputes between local employees and these companies over compensation arrangements.
“As our manufacturing industry upgrades and labor costs, especially in eastern China, continue to rise, foreign companies are trying to relocate to central or western China or even out of the
country,” Wang Jun, deputy director of the Department of Information at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Media reports suggested that Nitto Denko has been facing tough times in its business, as the global market share of its core business has been squeezed significantly in recent years and the company taps into more advanced materials and technologies.
Wang said that such relocations would not have a major impact on the Chinese economy because the economy is no longer reliant on low-end manufacturing. However, workers’ rights should be protected in dealing with closures and takeovers of these plants.
On Wednesday morning, Suzhou Nitto’s plant was quiet, with only a few staff appearing to be working inside a glass-wall facility and dozens of employees outside protesting.
They signed a compensation plan with the company on Tuesday night after the latter announced it would withdraw its investment from the plant.
Some employees are unhappy with the amount of compensation they were offered, while others are protesting against a plan for employees to stay on their jobs until April. They claim that they were only given two hours to decide before signing the agreement and that