Thursday, 23 January 2025
Home Topics Transport Automotive Geely, Baidu pledge to solve payroll issues facing EV venture
AutomotiveElectric Vehicles (EVs)NewsTransport

Geely, Baidu pledge to solve payroll issues facing EV venture

36
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the logo of Chinese automobile manufacturer Geely at a dealership in Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the logo of Chinese automobile manufacturer Geely at a dealership in Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s Geely and Baidu said on Friday they would help the management of their troubled electric vehicle venture Ji Yue Auto to solve disputes with employees including over social welfare and severance payments.

The statement issued by both companies on their Weibo accounts came a day after videos and livestreams circulated on social media showing Ji Yue Auto’s CEO Xia Yiping surrounded at the company’s Shanghai headquarters by dozens of people, some wearing employee lanyards, demanding to know when they would be paid.

Ji Yue said on Wednesday it would seek to raise new money and carry out some operational adjustments to cope with fierce market competition, becoming one of a number of smaller start-ups to admit to struggles amid a bruising price war in the world’s largest auto market.

Media representatives for Ji Yue have declined to comment on the scenes at the headquarters or about workers not being paid.

Baidu and Geely founded the company in early 2021 to develop smart EVs incorporated with Baidu’s autonomous driving technology and Geely’s expertise in vehicle hardware.

Geely and Baidu will “ensure normal use, after-sales and maintenance services of users’ vehicles,” Friday’s statement said, adding that they will push for other issues to be dealt with in a reasonable and legitimate manner.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh. Editing by Jane Merriman and Susan Fenton)

Related Articles

FILE PHOTO: A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File photo
BusinessOil

Oil prices extend losses on uncertainty over Trump tariff impact

By Nicole Jao NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil fell on Thursday after...

FILE PHOTO: Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami who is also the Chairperson of Japan Association of Corporate Executives, also known as Keizai Doyukai in Japan, speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo, Japan September 11, 2024.  REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
ElectionsManufacturingTrade

Japan firms must prepare for Trump tariff fallout, Suntory chief says in Davos

Japanese companies remain bullish about investing in the U.S. but need to...

FILE PHOTO: A Chevrolet 2025 Equinox EV LT is displayed during media day at the 2025 Detroit Auto Show at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo
BusinessElectric Vehicles (EVs)Regulations

GM recalls over 2,000 Chevrolet Equinox electric vehicles

(Reuters) -The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday that General...

Login into your Account

Please login to like, dislike or bookmark this article.