Huawei ups pay for entry-level staff
Summary: Chinese networking giant increases paychecks of lower-level employees by 30 percent, putting it in an even better position–against local rival ZTE–to recruit new talents.
Huawei has increased the pay package of its Level 13 to 14 employees, main entry- low-level staff, by an average 30 percent, with some getting more than a 70 percent salary hike next month.
According to a NetEase report Friday, which cited Chinese newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily, the salary increase would depend on the employees’ work experience and individual performance, and will be effective in the company’s August payroll.
Starting salaries for newly grads also have been increased significantly. Previously, pre-tax salaries for fresh grads postgraduate students in Huawei were 6,000 yuan (US$979) and 8,000 yuan (US$1,305) per month, respectively. From August, starting salaries, before tax, have been lifted to 8,000 to 9,000 yuan (US$1,305 to US$1,468) per month for newly undergraduate students, and 10,000 yuan (US$1,631) for postgraduate degrees.
Huawei will spend over 1 billion yuan (US$162 million) to support the salary increases, the report added.
A Wall Street Journal report said in 2012 entry-level salaries of 69 percent of Chinese college graduates were lower than 2,200 yuan ($359) a month, while graduates from lower-level universities earned an average of only 1,903 yuan (US$310) a month. Huawei’s basic salaries for fresh graduates are substantially higher than the market average.
In the past, employees in Huawei earned about 10 to 15 percent higher salary than their peers holding similar positions in rival ZTE. After the latest round of salary increase, Huawei will have a upper hand recruiting new talents in the future.
The company is also known for its generosity to employees. In 2010, when Huawei’s sales revenue reached 182.5 billion yuan (US$29.57 billion) with a record-high net profit of 30.6 billion yuan (US$4.96 billion), the Chinese networking equipment manufacturer implemented a 11.4 percent salary increase for its staff. Stock dividends also hit a historical record of 2.98 yuan (US$0.48) per share at that time.