TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Protests erupted in China’s Chongqing this weekend as the country softens its “zero-COVID” policies, which led to mass layoffs at a pharmaceutical company.
On Saturday (Jan. 7), thousands of workers of Zybio Inc., a pharmaceutical company producing nucleic acid COVID test kits, were abruptly informed of mass layoffs without any prior notice or consultation, reported UDN. Angry employees, many of whom did not receive their most recent wages, gathered in large numbers to protest in Dadukou District of Chongqing.
The workers destroyed company property at the factory and began to demolish large numbers of COVID test kits and other products. Police were dispatched to control the swelling crowds, which led to clashes between the two sides. Videos of the protests have been shared on Weibo, Twitter, and other social media.
Screengrabs of video shared from Chongqing on Jan. 7.
As a result of drastically reducing the amount of regular COVID testing required across the country, companies charged with providing COVID test kits are being forced to suspend operations or layoff large numbers of employees.
Over the past two years, China’s industry for producing COVID tests and PPE equipment has expanded significantly, as most of the country’s other industries have stalled. Experts have warned that Beijing's sudden turnabout on its “zero-COVID” policy might have disastrous repercussions for this industry and create serious problems for the economy at large.
China Update- Employees of #ZY Bio angry for not getting salary #protest and #clash with police in Chongqing, #China.
#ChinaProtest #BreakingNews #Chongqing #inflation pic.twitter.com/jLNTdt0zNb
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) January 8, 2023
Chongqing Dadukou protests video 2
Zhongyuan Huiji Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a company that produces testing reagents, workers were not paid, so protests and clashes with the police erupted.#SalaryProtests #China #ChinaProtests pic.twitter.com/i2SyxVrSUr
— China Lockdown 2022 (@2022_Lockdown) January 8, 2023
