Great Wall Motor's tough working environment is causing headaches for executives recruited by the automaker at its new European headquarters.
The Chinese automaker is rolling out its Wey and Ora product lines across Europe in a big push to expand beyond its home market.
The company, which opened offices in Munich last year, is aggressively luring managerial talent from rivals by offering pay that is 30 to 50 percent more than at comparable German employers, an executive told the business newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on condition of anonymity.
The Munich headquarters now has 100 employees, whose job is to boost Great Wall's sales in its new European markets. But their task is made difficult by a "toxic" working conditions, current and former employees told the FAZ on condition of anonymity.
The newly recruited employees complain about an unusually harsh tone in the company, a lack of respect for their expertise and "permanent domination" from China.
"The Chinese lure you in with a lot of money," a manager told FAZ. "But you can't work in this company," said the employee who, despite the generous compensation, regrets moving to the Great Wall.
Some employees have complained to the IG Metall union in Munich, which said several managers were dismissed late last year, in some cases "without reasonable justification."
Great Wall's head of European business, Steffen Cost told the paper that the automaker's working environment is "intense" because the manufacturer is largely unknown outside of China. "It's exciting, but not everyone can cope with it," he said.
Cost also said more extensive reporting obligations are common at Chinese companies, which has led to "cultural differences."
Even in China, the management style of Great Wall Chairman Wei Jianjun is considered extreme.
A Financial Times report said employees in China endure two weeks of military training before they join the company, marching in single file to their jobs, then to the dining room, and marching out again when their shifts end.
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