{"id":32521,"date":"2026-05-08T08:53:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=32521"},"modified":"2026-05-08T08:53:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:53:35","slug":"companies-in-china-cannot-fire-workers-to-replace-them-with-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/05\/companies-in-china-cannot-fire-workers-to-replace-them-with-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"Companies in China Cannot Fire Workers to Replace Them with AI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

B2 – Upper Intermediate<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An employee surnamed Zhou held a quality assurance role at a tech firm. The company, pointing to AI-driven improvements and a need for efficiency, tried to move Zhou to a different role and reduce their monthly salary from 25,000 yuan (about US$3,655) to 15,000 yuan. After Zhou refused the salary reduction, the company terminated their employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhou quickly filed for labour arbitration and requested compensation for being unfairly dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court found that the new role, with its significant pay cut, was not a reasonable offer for reassignment. As a result, it ruled the firing illegal and ordered the company to compensate the employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the article about the Chinese court ruling prohibiting firms to lay off workers on AI grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.businesstimes.com.sg\/international\/global\/companies-cannot-fire-workers-replace-them-ai-china-courts-rule<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vocabulary Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What does \u201cto be hinged on something<\/strong>\u201d mean? \u201cThe dispute largely <\/em>hinged on<\/em><\/strong> whether eliminating a job through AI adoption constitutes an objective major change in circumstances under China\u2019s Labour Contract Law.<\/em>\u201d Use the idiom in a sentence. Give a synonym.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Differentiate \u201carbitration<\/strong>\u201d, \u201cmediation\u201d, and \u201clitigation\u201d<\/strong>. \u201cAccording to the country\u2019s Labour Dispute <\/em>Mediation<\/em><\/strong> and <\/em>Arbitration<\/em><\/strong> Law, parties must first take their disagreements to <\/em>mediation<\/em><\/strong> and <\/em>arbitration<\/em><\/strong> commissions; if dissatisfied with the verdict, they can then pursue <\/em>litigation<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em>\u201d Use each term in a sentence.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Share your insights on Zhou\u2019s case and the court\u2019s ruling.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Should companies be prohibited from firing employees simply to replace them with cost-saving artificial intelligence? Share your opinion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. What are your thoughts on this, \u201cIf AI restructuring is necessary, corporations should prioritise retraining staff.<\/em>\u201d?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. How can workers\u2019 rights be protected against AI?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Do you believe AI will create more jobs than it replaces in the future? Explain your answer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      B2 – Upper Intermediate  An employee surnamed Zhou held a quality assurance role at a tech firm. The company, pointing to AI-driven improvements and a need for efficiency, tried to move Zhou to a different role and reduce their monthly salary from 25,000 yuan (about US$3,655) to 15,000 yuan. After Zhou refused the salary reduction, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[291,292,289,293,156,480],"class_list":["post-32521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homework","tag-b2-upper-intermediate","tag-first-certificate-fce","tag-reading","tag-text","tag-work","tag-work-and-workplace"],"yoast_head":"\nCompanies in China Cannot Fire Workers to Replace Them with AI | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/05\/companies-in-china-cannot-fire-workers-to-replace-them-with-ai\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Companies in China Cannot Fire Workers to Replace Them with AI | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B2 – Upper Intermediate  An employee surnamed Zhou held a quality assurance role at a tech firm. 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