Job losses mount as China factories sputter amid trade woes

Dongguan

WANG Zhishen was thrilled when Danish shipper AP Moller-Maersk gave him two months' paid leave, relishing the chance to spend time with his wife and daughters in China's remote Gansu province.

But his euphoria over what he thought was an unexpected bonus quickly turned to despair when Maersk fired him on Jan 3, less than a month after he packed his bags in the southern Chinese manufacturing centre of Dongguan.

Mr Wang said he was one of 2,000 workers laid off at the company's Dongguan transport container factory which has been idle since early December, as the impact of a trade war between Washington and Beijing ripples through industries from logistics to autos and technology.

"I was sure it was a holiday," said Mr Wang, 35, who said he worked as a painter at Maersk for nearly six years until he was sacked two weeks ago via China's WeChat messaging …