Xiaomi accused of secretly forcing employees to work overtime
The Chinese company Xiaomi, which specializes in the production of electronic equipment, primarily smartphones and other "smart devices", has found itself at the center of a scandal after reports emerged of excessive workload for employees.
As reported by Gizmochina, a post appeared on the Chinese platform Maimai, which resembles LinkedIn, claiming that Xiaomi forces employees to work 12-15 hour days and punishes them for taking vacations.
"Those whose logged hours fall below 8 are allegedly asked to submit written explanations. Employees who continue to rank low in work hours face warnings from management, and if things don’t change, their performance evaluation may be impacted," the publication noted.
Some employees confirmed this information to the Chinese publication Jiupai News - one of the specialists of the mobile division said that in his team the norm is 12.5 hours of work per day, while in others this figure reaches 14-15 hours. It is noted that these requirements from Xiaomi are not officially drawn up. They are transmitted orally to avoid traces. The company's employees also reported that attempts to take a day off reduce the average figure and cause pressure from management.
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"One employee told Jiupai News that Xiaomi has been operating this way for nearly two years. TOutsourced staff appear to face even stricter enforcement. One contract worker said that their department mandates exactly 11 hours of work each day, not averaged, but counted per day. If they work less than that, they’re called in the next morning. If it happens repeatedly, they risk immediate termination. Xiaomi has yet to make an official comment on the situation," the publication concluded.
Recall that in the first quarter of 2025, 71.6 million smartphones were shipped to the Chinese market, which is 3.3% more than in the same period last year. All Chinese manufacturers saw an increase in shipments, while iPhone shipments were the only one to fall by 9%. Apple ranks fifth among the most popular smartphone manufacturers and shipped 9.8 million iPhones in the first quarter. The leader in the Chinese market is now Xiaomi, which shipped 13.3 million smartphones, 39.9% more than in the same period last year.