China – Sany has started cutting its workforce

Sany Group, China’s biggest maker of construction machines by revenues, has started cutting its workforce in one of the clearest signs yet of the pain in the country’s industrial sector as growth slows in the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s heavy machinery makers, which include companies such as Sany, Zoomlion and Shantui, have seen sales drop in some parts of their businesses as construction growth slows.

Beijing’s lower economic growth target, combined with restrictions on property purchase, have put the brakes on China’s red-hot construction sector, which is the largest construction market in the world and a key driver of global demand for commodities.

“Lay-offs [in China’s machinery industry] have never happened in the last 10 years, even during the downcycles in 2005 and 2008” said Victoria Li, analyst at Barclays. “Definitely this downcycle is much more tougher than before.”…

via Sany job cuts signal Chinese slowdown – FT.com.