Exclusive: China to lay off five to six million workers, earmarks at least $23 billion

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: Reuters

China aims to lay off 5-6 million state workers over the next two to three years as part of efforts to curb industrial overcapacity and pollution, two reliable sources said, Beijing's boldest retrenchment program in almost two decades.

China's leadership, obsessed with maintaining stability and making sure redundancies do not lead to unrest, will spend nearly 150 billion yuan ($23 billion) to cover layoffs in just the coal and steel sectors in the next 2-3 years.

The overall figure is likely to rise as closures spread to other industries and even more funding will be required to handle the debt left behind by "zombie" state firms.

The term refers to companies that have shut down some of their operations but keep staff on their rolls since local governments are worried about the social and economic impact of bankruptcies and unemployment.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-layoffs-exclusive-idUSKCN0W33DS

[Kelvin Mace]

1. And so it begins....

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Continuing crumbling of the House of Cards

created by Wall Street .

[Major Hogwash]

3. God damn! I'd hate to be the guy in charge of that task!!

Telling 5-6 million people that they are no longer needed.

[Javaman]

4. "making sure redundancies do not lead to unrest"

yup, and laying off 5 to 6 million people won't piss off anyone at all.

[valerief]

8. The U.S. does it all the time. We call it bubbles. nt

[thelordofhell]

5. China makes Zorg Industries look like chicken feed

[NCjack]

6. Likely the Chinese army will expand.

[valerief]

7. Who's the new China? nt

[GliderGuider]

9. When the dust has settled, I don't think there will be one.

The world's financial and economic systems will be in tatters, while tides of climate and conflict refugees will be sweeping away governments by the score. The world is going to have a very hard time getting back on its feet after this one.

[MowCowWhoHow III]

11. Autotopia

[NickB79]

10. Historically, a large surplus of unwanted, jobless men was "dealt with" via wars

Better to send them abroad to fight and die than keep them home and let them create social disorder.

And thanks to gender-selective abortions over the past few decades, China has tens of million more men than women in it's population. Men who are already angry due to their inability to find wives and start families.

The countries bordering China should pay close attention to this.