This topic has been widely discussed online, and I wasn't planning to write about it, but Zhou Xiaoping, the owner of Changzhou Xingyu Shares, personally came forward to say: "We have also filed complaints and reports with the internet information and internet security departments regarding the false reports by some media outlets." Since a billionaire owner is so confident, I have no choice but to write about it again.
Firstly, if there were indeed "false reports", that would be incorrect, and if Xingyu Shares were negatively impacted by such false reports, they could naturally report or complain, and apply to have the posts deleted or the accounts banned. However, the author has yet to see any news reports from licensed major media outlets being deleted. Meanwhile, Xingyu Shares has also stated to the capital market that after the outbreak of negative public opinion, orders were not affected in any way. It seems that these "false reports" have no impact on Xingyu whatsoever. Following Xingyu's logic, if false reports have little influence, then would factual reports have even less of an impact?
Domestically, the current economic environment has resulted in a grim employment situation for new graduates, with enormous pressure to ensure employment. This is also one of the most important tasks, from the central government to local governments, with the State Council having released the "Implementing the Employment Priority Strategy ' Fifteen Five' Plan" just in June.
Xingyu Shares is not in a sunset industry and has not experienced an industry downturn. The company itself is preparing for an "A+H" listing, and its profitability is not a problem. Although the automotive industry is undergoing global structural adjustments, it is still booming overall. As the leader in the automotive lighting sector, located in mainland China, the company holds long-term orders from overseas automotive giants and is also meeting the expanding demands of domestic automakers.
According to the IPO application materials of Xingyu Shares, based on 2025 sales revenue, the company ranks first in China's automotive lighting market and seventh globally; in the intelligent car lamp market, it ranks first both globally and in China.
However, such companies have not only failed to become benchmarks for job security, but have also led to serious labor disputes, and instead of being models for high-quality development, they have become typical examples of exploiting new graduates.
According to the disclosure documents of Xingyu Co., Ltd., the number of employees decreased from 10,426 at the end of 2024 to 7,532 at the end of 2025, with a reduction of 3,182 production personnel. Meanwhile, the outsourcing labor hours increased from 8.648 million hours to 10.874 million hours.
At the same time as outsourcing replacements, Xingyu Shares is targeting not low-skilled, low-educated employees, but rather newly graduated master's students. Although graduates of different educational backgrounds have equal rights under labor law, whether from the perspective of the country, family, or individual, the resources and effort invested in cultivating a master's graduate are obviously far greater than those for people with lower educational backgrounds.
Although the current employment situation is severe, master's graduates still have some advantages. Xingyu Shares recruited and then let go of hundreds of freshly graduated master's students, disregarding the importance of their new graduate status in their job search, at a huge cost to these families and individuals. This cost is clearly not just about losing a job or adding an unflattering experience to their resume, but also about the loss of opportunities that new graduates should have had, and the opportunity cost is difficult to quantify. Therefore, simply expecting compensation for a few months' wages is not enough, and companies should not be exempt from other responsibilities. At a time when public opinion is still at a peak, the company's leaders are threatening to complain to and report the media, which clearly shows they have not grasped the severity of the situation.
Internationally, as the mainland China's trade surplus continues to expand, the external economic and trade environment is becoming increasingly complex and severe. The questioning of mainland China's labor employment issues is the current focus of developed countries such as Europe, the US, and Japan. If mainland China's tech or other still relatively well-developed companies, like Xingyu Shares, treat their employees in a similar manner, then the ones truly "handing over the knife" to overseas companies are not the students who complain and report to overseas companies, but rather companies like Xingyu Shares themselves. The more such companies there are, the more difficult it will be for mainland China to conduct external trade negotiations.
In other words, the adverse impact of the Xingyu Shares incident has already exceeded Changzhou and even Jiangsu. If such behavior does not incur sufficient costs, more companies will follow suit in the future.
In recent days, some media outlets and journalists have been trying to downplay the issue, either by emphasizing the need to "comply with overseas regulatory requirements" or by calling on Xingyu Shares to rehire the 107 graduates whose contracts were terminated. On the surface, they appear to be trying to ease tensions, but in reality, they are adding fuel to the fire.
The controversy is not about these 107 graduates, but about the millions of university graduates who graduate every year. They can understand that the job market is tough, but they cannot understand why leading companies like this can openly engage in such practices. If trust between enterprises and laborers completely disappears, what consequences will arise?
Did Xingyu Shares break the law? The Constantine Human Resources and Social Security Department is expected to provide a clear conclusion after conducting an in-depth investigation. If no laws were broken, then the problem lies with the legislation; if laws were broken, then severe punishment should be imposed to deter other companies from doing the same.