Chinese retail chain faces rare backlash for limiting new hires to 4-year contracts
Por Fran Lu — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Trending in China People & Culture Trending in China Chinese retail chain faces rare backlash for limiting new hires to 4-year contracts
Critics brand policy ridiculous, calling it an excuse to exploit young talent and dump them as they grow experienced, harder to control
2 -MIN READ 2 -MIN Listen
Fran Lu in Beijing Published: 7:19pm, 24 Sep 2026 Updated: 7:20pm, 24 Sep 2026
Retail tycoon Yu Donglai, widely known as China’s “most conscientious” boss, recently triggered public controversy with a proposal to sign only a four-year “training initiative” contract with future new hires, without renewing it.
Yu has been nationally acclaimed for the many unconventionally humanistic rules he set up for Pangdonglai, a supermarket chain he founded in central China’s Henan province in 1995.
Yu, for example, once said his 8,000 employees’ after-tax monthly salaries average 9,000 yuan (US$1,350), higher than the province’s average. The company offers 30 days of paid leave plus 10 days of paid “unhappy leave” for those feeling emotionally unwell.
Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
