Chinese Firms Race to Contain Job Losses as Coronavirus Batters Economy

A guard measures the body temperature of a worker with a thermometer at the entrance to a factory, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China on Feb. 13, 2020. China Daily via Reuters

BEIJING—When cameraman Mark Xia returned to his job this month after the Lunar New Year holiday, the Shanghai video production house where he worked told him to take three months of leave with no pay, as a coronavirus outbreak takes a toll of China’s businesses.

Now Xia is looking for a part-time job after the company, with a workforce of about 100, rejected his request to pay at least half his monthly salary during the suspension, and left him no choice but to resign.