Exclusive | US consulting giant Bain & Company offers China staff 6 months of voluntary leave, sources say
- Some employees have been given the chance to take part in a half-year ‘career enrichment programme’ outside the office
- The move comes after Chinese police visited the American company’s offices in Shanghai and questioned its staff
US consultancy giant Bain & Company is offering some staff in China the option to take six months’ leave while earning a portion of their regular salaries, according to people familiar with the matter.
Employees were informed this week of a new “career enrichment programme”, with those who are accepted being allowed to take a half-year leave to “learn a new skill”, according to sources who were briefed on the scheme, but declined to be identified because the information is private.
A stipend equivalent to 30 per cent of base pay will be provided during the period, the people said. Participation is voluntary.
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Beijing raids offices of consulting firm Capvision in widening crackdown over national security
Bain’s offer came after Chinese police last month visited the US company’s Shanghai offices and questioned its staff. Officers seized phones and computers, according to a Financial Times report at the time. Bain has said it is “cooperating as appropriate” with authorities.
The nature, reason and potential consequence of that visit remains unknown to the public. The Chinese government has not disclosed any related information.
On Monday, however, state broadcaster China Central Television aired a prime-time news report that provided a more detailed account of an investigation into Capvision Partners, another multinational consultancy. In that programme, Capvision, which arranges informational interviews with subject experts for clients, was accused of “degenerating into an accomplice of overseas intelligence agencies”.
Capvision said in a statement on Wednesday it has set up a compliance commission and will rectify its operation under the guidance of China’s national security authority.
