Get married or you're fired: Chinese company's policy sparks outrage

A Chinese company has come under fire after issuing a controversial policy requiring unmarried employees to marry by September 2025 or face termination. The directive, which was later withdrawn following government intervention, sparked widespread criticism and legal scrutiny.

The company, Shuntian Chemical Group, based in Shandong province, released a notice stating that employees should embrace values such as "diligence, kindness, loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness," with marriage and children seen as essential to these principles.

According to the notice, all single or divorced employees aged 28-58 were required to marry by September 30, 2025. Those who failed to comply would have to submit self-criticism letters by March and risk termination following a review in June.

Company representatives claimed the policy aimed to encourage older unmarried employees to settle down, but it was swiftly met with backlash from employees and labour authorities. The local human resources and social security bureau stepped in, deeming the directive a violation of labor laws.

Following the intervention, Shuntian Chemical Group withdrew the notice. The incident highlights growing concerns in China’s struggle with a declining birth rate, which has worsened since the end of the one-child policy in 2016. For three consecutive years, deaths have outnumbered births, and government efforts to encourage marriage and childbearing have yet to reverse the trend.

Despite various incentives, marriage registrations continue to decline, with just 6.1 million registered marriages in 2025, down from 7.68 million in 2021. The controversy surrounding the company’s policy has reignited debates on workplace rights and personal freedoms in China.