Chinese court orders fintech company to pay $36,000 to employee fired

The Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou has ruled in favor of a quality assurance supervisor, surnamed Zhou, who was unlawfully dismissed after his employer integrated artificial intelligence. The court ordered the company to pay Zhou over 260,000 yuan, equivalent to roughly 36,000 US dollars, in compensation.

Zhou was earning 25,000 yuan per month before the fintech company proposed reassigning him to a lower-level position with a 40 percent salary reduction. When Zhou refused the demotion and the pay cut to 15,000 yuan, the company terminated his contract, citing organizational restructuring and AI-driven efficiency gains.

The Hangzhou court ruled that the adoption of AI did not justify termination under Chinese labor laws. Judge Shi Guoqiang noted that AI technology has not reached the point where it can substantially replace human workers, emphasizing that companies cannot transfer the risks of technological upgrades onto employees.