German auto giant, BMW, has had what appears to be a publicity stunt blow up in its face, in the form of blowback from a Suzhou company telling employees to replace their BMW vehicles with domestic-brand-name cars. The penalty for not doing so? Dismissal.
It all began when a scandal emerged last week from the Shanghai Auto Show. There, BMW was seen to be giving out free ice cream to foreign visitors to its Mini booth on 20 April, a treat denied Chinese would-be buyers.
That prompted Suzhou Fengtou Guangneng (Group) Co., Ltd. to issue a notice requesting employees who drive a BMW to write a letter committing themselves to replacing it with a domestic-brand vehicle within 1 month, otherwise they will be dismissed.
That was said to have taken place on 21 April. Media Outlet, The Paper, spoke on 23 April with a member of management at Fengtou Guangneng, surnamed Liu, who confirmed the issuing of the notice.
Furthermore, the directive goes on to state that if a BMW is replaced with a car from China’s flag-carrier brand, Hong Qi, the employee will receive a cash reward of ¥20,000.
Legally speaking, Fengtou Guangneng is skating on some pretty thin ice.
Liu Wenhua, a Doctor of Law who heads up Yunnan Liu Wenhua Law Firm, believes Fengtou Guangneng’s actions to be in violation of the Civil Code and Labour Contract Law.
Liu said that employers using the termination of labour contracts as coercion in forcing employees to replace specific, foreign-brand cars affects the international atmosphere of China’s reform and opening up, an act that violates the Civil Code.
Furthermore, the company’s directive goes beyond the scope of internal management, violates the free will of employees and infringes upon their personal freedoms.
Back in Shanghai, on the afternoon of 20 April, BMW Mini made an official apology for unhappiness caused by their lack of meticulous internal management and staff negligence. BMW Mini then followed up again the following day, stating that the foreigners who ate ice cream were in fact employees.
