China Unicom's annual layoffs: labor costs do not decrease but instead increase

Recently, China Unicom (600050.SH) released its 2025 annual report. In 2025, operating revenue was 3922.23 billion yuan, up slightly by 0.7% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 91.27 billion yuan, up 1.1% year-on-year. For 2025, the company plans to distribute a final cash dividend of 0.523 yuan. According to statistics by Eastmoney, this is the lowest amount among the company’s 6 dividend plans since 2023.

What is worth noting is that, in correspondence with the lackluster growth in performance, the annual report shows that the number of employees in service has been declining year after year. Specifically, the total number of employees in service in 2025 was 237251, down by 3366 from 240617 in 2024, representing a decline of about 1.4%. Meanwhile, in 2024 compared with 2023, the number decreased by 2274 from 242891, with a decline of about 0.9%.

The decrease in the number of employees is not a uniform decline, but rather reflects structural changes. In terms of education level, the number of employees with postgraduate degrees and above increases year by year, while the number with associate degrees, technical secondary school education, and below decreases year by year. Reflected in positions, the number of R&D personnel shows an upward trend, rising from 21218 people in 2023 to 25536 in 2025. The average annual increase is about 2000 people, and the proportion of R&D personnel also rises from 8.7% to 10.5%.

In terms of labor costs, China Unicom does not reduce them but increases them. In 2025, they are about 469.4 billion yuan, up from 448.9 billion yuan in 2024, an increase of 4.6%. The company states that it is continuing to optimize the efficiency of human resources, working to strengthen and improve compensation distribution management, and investing a special total wage amount to support the building of strategic emerging industries, key areas, and teams of high-level talents.

Regarding issues such as the positions affected by the reduction in employees, labor costs not decreasing despite the decline in employment, and the increase in the number of retired staff requiring cost coverage, a reporter from Economic Information Daily called China Unicom’s securities department. The staff member said, “The issue has been received and recorded, and we will respond later.” As of the time of writing, no reply has been received.

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