Opinion | Fat chance of staff cuts after PetroChina headcount doubles
Profit growth has masked bloated headcounts at some state enterprises, and there's little prospect of change despite leaner economic times
Making Jiang Jiemin, the former chairman of PetroChina, the head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) is a big sell for state enterprises.
The oil giant spearheaded the so-called - downsize-for-efficiency - campaign launched by the then premier Zhu Rongji back in 2000. His formula for building an efficient and competitive state enterprise was to trim staff numbers, cut expenses and then list the business.
In its 2000 prospectus, the company made much of its leaner 441,000-strong workforce; a plan to cut 50,000 more; and a share reward scheme for its management, or a pledge to be a genuine business.
Guess what? In its 2012 annual report, PetroChina reported having 866,666 people on its payroll, including 548,355 employees and 318,311 seasonal workers. Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, has just 76,900 regular employees.
How did it happen? For over a decade, management justified the higher headcount with higher output and sales, with its production rising by 58 per cent over the years. That can hardly justify a doubling in staff and certainly not a 133 per cent increase in the number of people at its headquarters.
