Per reporter: Li Xing
There is not a single exhibition car in the store, and there are clutter piled up around it, and only one left-behind employee, Zhang Li (pseudonym), is in charge. This is what the reporter of the "Daily Economic News" saw when he visited a Hanteng Automobile 4S store in Beijing on July 13.
Image source: Photo by reporter Li Xing
"Since entering the last batch of Hanteng cars in July last year, there have been no Hanteng cars sold in the store for nearly a year." Zhang Li told reporters that most of the sales staff in the store have left, and a small number of people who stayed behind have also gone to the after-sales department to help.
Not only that, since Hanteng Automobile employees revealed that the company was in arrears of wages in August last year, the car company in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, has been entangled in news such as unpaid work stoppage, factory shutdown, and mortgage of production equipment.
On June 26 this year, Great Wall Motor's WeChat public account suddenly announced that Great Wall Motor's vehicle and parts production base project was officially settled in Jiangxi Shangrao Economic and Technological Development Zone.
"Great Wall Motors took over the second phase of The Hanteng Automobile plant." A few days ago, an internal employee of Hanteng Automobile, who did not want to be named, broke the news to reporters and provided photos of the scene. Gong Hai (pseudonym), an employee of Hanteng Automobile who has left the company, revealed to reporters that the second-phase factory of Hanteng Automobile, which was taken over by Great Wall Motors, has begun to "recruit soldiers".
In this regard, the reporter verified with Great Wall Motors for the first time. But as of press time, Great Wall Motors has not responded.
Image source: Per reporter Zhang Jian photographed (data map)
A Hanteng Automobile executive, who did not want to be named, revealed to the "Daily Economic News" reporter: "Now the relevant local departments are leading the restructuring of Hanteng Automobile, and it is not clear to what extent it is currently carried out." ”
Great Wall takes over non-restructuring The amount of the acquisition is undecided
According to the release of Great Wall Motor in its WeChat public account, Great Wall Motor plans to build the Shangrao vehicle and parts production base into a comprehensive base with vehicle manufacturing as the core, mainly producing Great Wall Motor's Haval brand SUV models, and will form a production capacity of 120,000 vehicles/year in the future, while investing in the construction of supporting projects such as interior and exterior decoration, seats, chassis and 150,000 units/year engine.
The above-mentioned Hanteng Automobile executive said that Great Wall Motors only invested in the purchase of the second phase of Hanteng Automobile's factory and equipment in the factory, rather than participating in the restructuring of Hanteng Automobile. "At present, the two sides have only signed a framework agreement, including details such as the price of the second phase of the plant have not yet been determined." The above-mentioned Hanteng Automobile executive said.
On July 13, Gong Hai (pseudonym) broke the news to reporters: "This morning (July 13), I received a call from Great Wall Motors, asking if our employees who left Hanteng Motors would like to work in the Shangrao factory of Great Wall Motors, and the salary can be increased by up to 30% on the basis of the existing salary. Great Wall Motors has communicated with Hanteng Automobile about the employee situation, and those who are interested will call to inform. The two sides are now handing over calibration certificates for measuring equipment. But I did not directly agree, and I am still waiting to see. ”
Image source: Hanteng Automobile's official website
Founded in November 2013, Hanteng Automobile Co., Ltd. is one of the six major vehicle manufacturers introduced by Shangrao Economic Development Zone, with a total investment of 13.7 billion yuan in the local area and two major bases with a total production capacity of 350,000 vehicles per year. Among them, the total investment of the first phase is 3.7 billion yuan, with a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles / year; the total investment of the second phase is 10 billion yuan, with a production capacity of 200,000 vehicles / year.
The above-mentioned Executives of Hanteng Automobile revealed to reporters that the restructuring work of Hanteng Automobile, including the acquisition of the second phase of the factory by Great Wall Motors, was led by the relevant local departments.
The Management Committee of Shangrao Economic and Technological Development Zone also said on its WeChat public account "National Shangrao Economic Development Zone" that by revitalizing the stock of Shangrao Hanteng Automobile (Phase II), it will help the Shangrao automobile industry to develop and grow.
The above-mentioned internal employees of Hanteng Automobile revealed that after the second phase of the factory is sold, the first phase of the factory can be revitalized. "Hanteng Auto now retains the first phase of the factory." The above-mentioned Executive of Hanteng Automobile admitted frankly, "We are also waiting, how it will develop in the later stage, it is still difficult to say." ”
The factory completely shut down the 4S store to retain after-sales
According to the reporter's understanding, due to operational difficulties, the Hanteng Automobile Factory has now completely stopped work and production.
As a former employee of Hanteng Motors, Zhu Tong has been away from the company for 9 months. According to Zhu Tong, the problem of Hanteng Automobile's suspension of work and production began to appear after the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020. From May 2020 to June 2020, the plant resumed production, but in July, the plant began to stop production completely.
The suspension of work and production in the factory directly affected the terminal sales of Hanteng Automobile nationwide. "Since the beginning of this year, we have not sold Hanteng cars in our store, and now we are selling other brands." The staff of a number of Hanteng Automobile 4S stores told reporters.
"When will there be a car for sale, there is no notice from the manufacturer, we don't know." Zhang Li (pseudonym), a salesman at the 4S store of Hanteng Automobile, told reporters, "We are also standing up here, which is very uncomfortable." ”
As for the reasons for the suspension of work and production of Hanteng Automobile, the Shangrao Economic Development Zone Eradication Office replied that due to the impact of multiple factors such as the global epidemic and the economic downturn of the domestic automobile industry, the company's operation has encountered many difficulties.
The analysis believes that the operational difficulties of Hanteng Automobile are closely related to the sharp decline in sales of its products. According to public data, Hanteng Automobile sold a total of 7683 vehicles from January to July 2020, compared with 24979 units from January to July 2019, a decline of nearly 70%. Among them, in July 2020, Hanteng Automobile sold only 734 vehicles.
Hanteng Automobile's sales of less than 10,000 vehicles in the first seven months of 2020 are serious overcapacity compared to its capacity plan of up to 350,000 vehicles.
It is worth noting that although most of the models on sale of Hanteng Automobile nationwide have been discontinued, the after-sales service business of Hanteng Automobile has not stopped because of this.
"Although we do not sell Hanteng models in our store, the after-sales service maintenance for Hanteng owners who previously purchased cars is still in progress. However, in vehicle repairs, only parts that are available in the store can be replaced. The above-mentioned after-sales maintenance employee of a Hanteng automobile 4S store in Beijing told reporters, "If the parts manufacturer required for repairing the vehicle does not have inventory, it can only be replaced by the owner of the car at his own expense." There's no way around it. ”
The reporter called the "400" service hotline of Hanteng Automobile, and the other customer service also said that the after-sales service of Hanteng Automobile was carried out normally and was not affected in any way.
In this regard, the above-mentioned Executives of Hanteng Automobile explained that the after-sales service business is retained because for many dealers, retaining this business will not increase too much cost, so dealers still insist on doing it.
As for when Hanteng Automobile will resume production and sales, the above-mentioned Hanteng Automobile executives only said: "Still waiting."
The resumption of production plan is shelved and employees are still being "optimized"
In fact, in order to solve the problem of operational difficulties, last year, the relevant working group of Shangrao Economic Development Zone began to settle in Hanteng Automobile to urge the company to tide over the difficulties as soon as possible. The following month, Hanteng Automobile began a large-scale layoff due to business difficulties.
"Last September, we, the executives, began calling our employees one by one to persuade them to leave. The company promised that if they left within the specified time, they would not only get all the unpaid wages, but also give a working age subsidy of 2,000 yuan / year. Sun Yao (pseudonym), an employee inside Hanteng Automobile, told reporters.
According to the above-mentioned Executives of Hanteng Automobile, the number of employees in the company's heyday was more than 3,000, but at present there are only more than 300 people. According to Sun Yao, around June 25 this year, Hanteng Automobile released a "List of Retained Persons", which made it clear that everyone who was not on the list was required to leave.
"According to the relevant requirements, after the new round of layoffs, the number of companies needs to be controlled at about 200 people." Sun Yao said that the company promised that employees who left before July 5 could settle the arrears of April-June wages at the end of July or early August, and at the same time give 2,000 yuan / year of service subsidies.
"The company plans to leave only more than 200 people this time, and those who stay are paid normally." For employees who are not on the "Retention List" and do not want to leave, the company will implement a holiday treatment and give them a living allowance of more than 400 yuan per month. Sun Yao said.
The reporter learned that from September last year to the end of February this year, the employees of Hanteng Automobile only worked half a day, and their salaries were paid according to 70% of the original wages as scheduled. Since March this year, Hanteng Automobile's employees have resumed full-time work and paid full pay.
At the beginning of this year, the relevant local departments asked Hanteng Automobile to submit a plan to resume production, which was originally planned to gradually resume production from March. So our employees have been working normally since March, and their salaries are also paid full pay. However, this resumption plan was not really implemented and was shelved. The company also only paid a full salary for March, and from April to now, the salary has not been paid. Sun Yao told reporters.
20% of retained wages are not paid Employees plan to sue
With the implementation of the new round of layoffs, the salary payment of employees has also given the expected time. The problem that only bothers Sun Yao and Zhu Tong and others is that "employees who left in September last year have paid off their salaries, including 20% of the wages retained from January to August 2020." However, for leaving after October last year, the company owes us 20% of our wages to this day. ”
Image source: Ask Zheng Jiangxi official website
"When he left, Hanteng Automobile promised to withhold 20% of our wages and settle them with us as soon as possible after leaving, but then said that these 20% wages were performance wages, and the company could not give them." Zhu Tong revealed in an interview with reporters that the wages of Hanteng Automobile employees who left in September last year have been settled, but the salary of the last month's departure, Hanteng Automobile has not yet been issued, and he is still running for the 20% of the company's arrears of wages.
To this end, the reporter contacted the person in charge of the relevant department of Hanteng Automobile for verification at the first time, but the other party said that it was not clear about the relevant situation.
It is understood that Zhu Tong officially proposed to leave his post on October 17 last year. What he didn't expect was that employees who had left since October (including those who left this year) had not yet paid the 20% of their salaries. "There are more than 170 employees who are owed 20% of their wages." Zhu Tong said helplessly.
As a member of the company's management, Sun Yao also completed his resignation on July 5. He encountered the same distress. "The company did not pay 20% of the salary (20,000 yuan) from January to August last year, and the company did not give any explanation, only notified that the salary arrears from April to June this year would be paid before the beginning of August." Sun Yao told reporters.
According to the employment notice letter of Hanteng Automobile provided by Zhu Tong, the company's salary payment method is an annual salary of more than 120,000 yuan / year, which is issued in accordance with the company's regulations of 8/2, with an average monthly salary of 80%, and 20% of the annual salary is retained at the end of the year. "I have worked in Hanteng Automobile for nearly three years, and 20% of the salary in the first two years was paid normally at the end of the year, and there was never a performance wage. It is now completely unacceptable to say that 20% of the wages that were not paid from January to August last year are performance wages. Zhu Tong said indignantly.
Sun Yao also said: "The 20% of the offers provided by the company are clearly retained wages, which is not what they call performance wages, which is a pretext for them." ”
Image source: Courtesy of former Hanteng Automobile employees
In order to receive this part of the salary, Zhu Tong formally submitted an application for labor arbitration on April 30 this year, and conducted arbitration on June 23. "Hanteng Motors insists on 20% of the salary as performance pay, and does not accept private mediation." Zhu Tong said that now he is waiting for the arbitration result to come out and then make plans, if not, he can only take up the legal weapon and sue Hanteng Automobile to protect his rights and interests.
In this regard, the above-mentioned Executives of Hanteng Automobile also admitted to reporters that "the problem of the company's arrears of employee wages has not been solved."
"Maybe after Great Wall Motors takes over, the wages owed by Hanteng Motors can be paid." Sun Yao helplessly told reporters that many employees of Hanteng Automobile who have left the company are now pinning their hopes on the "receiver" Great Wall Motors.
Reporter: Li Xing
Editor: Sun Lei
Vision: Liu Qingyan
Video Editing: Zhu Yu
Typography: Pei Jianru Ma Yuan
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