Latest news with #salarycut
Reuters
06-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Serie A players to face automatic 25% pay cut if relegated
ROME, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Italian top-flight players will see their salaries slashed by 25% if their teams are relegated to Serie B, under a new agreement between the Italian Footballers' Association and Serie A. The five-year agreement was announced on Tuesday. The pay cut is aimed at easing the financial strain on clubs that drop out of Serie A and will apply to all contracts signed after September 2, 2025 -- the end of the transfer window. The new system automatically reduces salaries unless otherwise stipulated in a player's contract. Existing deals will remain subject to previously agreed terms. If a team earns promotion back to Serie A, affected salaries will return to their original value. The collective bargaining agreement also introduces a minimum salary structure based on a player's age, which cannot be lowered even after relegation.
Japan Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Beneath China's resilient economy, a life of pay cuts and side hustles
Chinese state firm employee Zhang Jinming makes up for a 24% cut to his salary by delivering food for three hours every night after work and on weekends — and hopes he can avoid awkward encounters with colleagues. "Being a part-time delivery person while working for a state-owned enterprise isn't exactly considered respectable," said Zhang, whose real estate firm now pays him 4,200 yuan ($585) per month, down from 5,500 yuan. While China has supported economic growth by keeping its ports and factories humming, the lack of real demand has hit profits, in turn squeezing workers like Zhang through wage cuts and forcing them to moonlight. "There's just no other way," added the 30-year-old, who rides his scooter until 11.30 pm, making 60-70 yuan per evening. "The pay cut has put me under huge pressure. Many colleagues have resigned and I took over their workload." China's economy posted robust 5.2% growth in the second quarter, showing its export-heavy model has so far withstood U.S. tariffs. But beneath the headline resilience, cracks are widening. Contract and bill payment delays are rising, including among export champions like the autos and electronics industries and at utilities, whose owners — indebted local governments — have to run a tight shop while shoring up tariff-hit factories. Ferocious competition for a slice of external demand, hit by global trade tensions, is crimping industrial profits, fueling factory-gate deflation even as export volumes climb. Workers bear the brunt of companies cutting costs. Falling profits and wages shrank tax revenues, pressuring state employers like Zhang's to cut costs as well. In pockets of the financial system, non-performing loans are surging as authorities push banks to lend more. For the most part, the lopsided nature of growth in the world's second-largest economy is a product of policies that favour exporters over consumers. Economists have long urged Beijing to redirect support to domestically focused sectors, such as education and healthcare, or boost household consumption — for instance, by bolstering welfare — or risk a slowdown in the second half of the year. Max Zenglein, Asia-Pacific senior economist at the Conference Board of Asia, describes China as a "dual-speed economy" with strong industry and weak consumption, noting the two are related. "Some of the economic challenges including low profitability and deflationary pressure are largely driven by continued capacity expansion in the manufacturing and technology sectors," said Zenglein. "What's unfolding now" in the trade war with the U.S. is "coming back home as a domestic issue." Hit to incomes Frank Huang, a 28-year-old teacher in Chongzuo, a city of more than 2 million people near the Vietnam border, in the indebted Guangxi region, says his school has not paid him in two to three months, waiting for authorities to provide the funds. "I can only endure, I don't dare to quit," said Huang, who relies on parents when his 5,000 yuan paycheck doesn't arrive. "If I were married with a mortgage, car loan and child, the pressure would be unimaginable." Another teacher from Linquan, a rural county of 1.5 million in eastern China, said she is only receiving her basic 3,000 yuan monthly salary. The performance-based part of her pay, usually about 16%, "has been consistently delayed." "After I pay for gas, parking and property management fees, what's left isn't enough for groceries," said the teacher, who only gave her surname Yun for privacy reasons. "I feel like begging," added Yun. "If it weren't for my parents, I would starve." A delivery driver rests on his electric bike in Beijing on Jan. 25. | REUTERS There is no data on payment delays in the government sector. But among industrial firms, arrears have grown quickly in sectors with a strong state presence, either through industrial policy or — like in utilities — through direct ownership. Arrears in the computer, communication and electronic equipment sector and in autos manufacturing — two priorities for China's economic planners — rose by 16.6% and 11.2%, respectively, in the year through May, faster than the 9% average across industries. Overdue payments were up 17.1% and 11.1% in the water and gas sectors. These figures suggest liquidity stress and are a side-effect of authorities prioritising output over demand, said Minxiong Liao, senior economist at GlobalData TS Lombard APAC. "The result should be slower growth for these champion sectors," in the future, he said. Spending deferred With incomes under pressure, Beijing is struggling to meet its pledge to lift household consumption and worries are growing that persistent deflation will further damage the economy as consumers defer spending. Huang Tingting quit her waitress job last month after business at her restaurant — and most shops nearby — plummeted in April, at the height of U.S.-China trade tensions. Responding to plunging revenues, the restaurant owner asked staff to take four unpaid leave days every month. "I still have to pay rent and live my life," said the 20-year-old from the eastern Jiangsu province, an export powerhouse that's outpacing national growth, explaining why she quit. In the past, though, she could find another restaurant job in a day or two. This time, she's been unemployed since June. One recruiter told her a job she applied for had more than 10 other candidates. "The job market this year is worse than last year," said Huang.
Independent Singapore
29-06-2025
- General
- Independent Singapore
Jobseeker puzzled after hospital HR asks about GPA instead of experience
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean woman recently shared her confusion online after being asked about her grade point average (GPA) during a job application. In her Reddit post, she shared that after applying for a job at a local hospital, she got a call from HR, but to her surprise, the conversation didn't start with the usual questions about her past roles or experience. Instead, the very first thing they asked was about her GPA. 'I'm not a fresh grad, but I still got asked how much my GPA is,' she wrote on Friday (Jun 27). 'Then HR proceeds to tell me whether I can take a salary cut for this role (~20% lower than my current salary, not even my expected salary) before proceeding further. Didn't really ask much about my work experience.' Wondering if this was normal, she asked other locals, 'Is GPA still a deciding factor for salary instead of your work experience in government jobs?' 'Grades play a huge part in the number of doors they can open for you.' In the comments, several Redditors weighed in to offer their perspectives on why some public hospitals and government-linked organisations place such a strong emphasis on academic qualifications, even when hiring experienced candidates. One Singaporean user explained that many of these organisations are bound by structured salary frameworks. They said, 'These organizations are required to track your academic profile and pay you a higher/lower salary. Guys get asked about their NS (National Service) vocation and PES (Physical Employment Standards) grades, have no correlation towards the scope or security. That's just how the system works. Not happy? Find another company to interview for.' Another commented, 'There's a band for public hospitals—they likely do not consider your past experiences (i.e., 0 years of experience); hence, to them you are a fresh graduate, and hence, GPA matters.' A third added, 'Think about it logically. Why do people strive so hard to get to top universities and get good grades? Because it matters and will still matter. Sure, grades are not everything, but the reality is, they play a huge part in the number of doors they can open for you.' In other news, a man took to NUSWhispers on Wednesday (Jun 25) to share that he feels stuck in a toxic and emotionally draining relationship with a girlfriend who threatens to harm herself whenever he tries to walk away. In the post, he explained that they've been together for a few years now, but over time, the relationship has become increasingly unhealthy. Every time he tries to break things off, his girlfriend responds by threatening self-harm, saying she would 'die' if he leaves her. Read more: 'I feel stuck': Man says girlfriend threatens self-harm whenever he tries to leave, turns to netizens for advice Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)
Independent Singapore
22-06-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Jobseeker torn over offer with 50% pay cut after 8 months of unemployment
SINGAPORE: How long would you wait for the 'right' job to come along? A Singaporean man is facing a tough decision after being out of work for the past eight months: should he accept a job offer that pays him almost 50 per cent less than what he used to earn, or keep holding out and continue job hunting in hopes that something better will come along? In a post shared on the r/askSingapore subreddit on Tuesday (June 18), the man opened up about his situation, explaining that the job search hasn't been easy. Over the past few months, he has sent out hundreds of applications and attended a handful of interviews, but only recently received a single job offer. The offer, however, comes with a catch: it pays about S$4,000 a month, which is a huge drop from his previous salary of around S$7,000. Asking fellow users for their thoughts, he wrote: 'Should I settle for lower pay in this struggling economy? Should I take the job first and find higher-paying jobs later? Or reject and hope a better offer will come? 'In a dilemma right now. I don't want to take the job just to quit later on.' 'S$4k still better than S$0.' In the discussion thread, one Singaporean Redditor said, 'Pick up the experience. It will get you a better-paying job later. Been there, done that, and I made up for the salary cut I took in my next job offer.' Another wrote, 'It really depends on your pain threshold. Do you have enough savings to survive for more months of job hunting? Are you okay with job hunting for many more months, with no end in sight, to get the $7K salary you want? Or are you bored out of your mind with nothing to do? And you would rather just take a lower-paying job and have something to do, in the meantime?' A third added, 'S$4k still better than S$0. Also, the longer you're unemployed, the harder it is to get employed, as HR will start questioning why you've been out of work for so long.' In other news, a 30-year-old man recently shared in a Reddit post that he is approaching the one-year mark since he last held a job, and that his ongoing struggle with unemployment has become an increasingly difficult chapter in his life. Writing on the r/askSingapore forum on Friday (June 20), he revealed that he has been out of work since August 2024. Prior to that, he was earning a five-figure monthly salary at a well-known bulge bracket firm. Read more: 'It's taking forever': 30 yo man struggles to bounce back after nearly a year of unemployment Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)
Japan Times
03-06-2025
- General
- Japan Times
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito to take 50% pay cut over info leak
The Hyogo prefectural government said Tuesday that it plans to cut Gov. Motohiko Saito's monthly salary by half over three months from July, after the personal information of a whistleblower held by the prefecture was leaked. The 50% cut includes a 30% reduction that the governor pledged in his reelection campaign. The Hyogo government will submit an ordinance on the additional cut to the prefectural assembly soon. Saito told reporters that he will punish himself over the poor information management. "As the head of the organization, I feel responsible for not being able to properly manage information held by the prefecture," he said. The personal information was that of a former prefectural government employee who wrote and distributed a document alleging harassment by Saito in March 2024 and who died four months later. During its investigation of the document, the prefecture found the personal information of the former official in question stored in his government-issued computer. This information was later leaked online. In a report on the matter released in May, a third-party committee said the leaked information is the same as that discovered by the Hyogo government in the computer. In a separate report released in the same month, another third-party committee said that Chiaki Inomoto, the former head of the prefecture's general affairs department, had leaked the personal information to prefectural assembly members. It concluded that this was likely to have been carried out under Saito's instructions. The prefectural government also plans to widen the pay cut for Vice Gov. Yohei Hattori from 15% to 25% for three months from July over his role in the leak.
