Chinese firm Unicom’s dismissal of a 24-year-old undergraduate because she is ‘too old’, renews age discrimination debate
- A number of young students offered graduate roles with a major Chinese firm have been told the positions are no longer available due to their ages
- In China, the current retirement age for men is 60, 55 for white-collar women workers and 50 their blue-collar counterparts
Chinese telecom company China Unicom has been accused of age discrimination after it withdrew a graduate job offer from a 24-year-old student because she was “too old”.
The undergraduate, surnamed He, was informed by the company on Wednesday that a graduate role she had previously been offered was off the table because she was over the cut-off age of 24.
He said she is aware of at least five other students who have also been let go by the Guangdong-based company in southern China due to their age.
According to video news website Houlang, China Unicom told He her hiring had violated internal company rules that stipulate undergraduates hired through universities must be under 24 years old.
He had signed work agreements with Unicom’s Heyuan branch during an on-campus recruitment drive by the firm at her university last year.
