Chinese plants already were far from running at full tilt when Tesla first cut prices in October last year and then again in January. CEO Elon Musk has since doubled-down on his strategy with more cuts announced last month.
Including factories making combustion-engine cars, China had the capacity to produce 43 million vehicles a year at the end of 2022, but the plant utilization rate was 54.5 percent, down from 66.6 percent in 2017, China Passenger Car Association data show.
At the same time, pay cuts and lay-offs in the auto industry and its suppliers - which employ an estimated 30 million people according to Chinese state media - are hitting living standards at a time when Beijing desperately wants to lift consumer confidence from near record lows.
Cutting salaries is illegal in China, but complex pay structures offer ways around this.
SAIC-VW, for example, was able to reduce Mike Chen's take-home pay by reducing working hours and cutting bonuses, without tinkering with his base pay, which typically covers up to half the compensation workers expect when they join.
BYD, China's largest EV maker, advertised a position in August at its Shenzhen factory with an estimated monthly income of 5,000-7,000 yuan, but the base salary was 2,360 yuan ($324).
The average monthly wage in China was 11,300 yuan in June, according to government data.
A Reuters analysis of the estimated income included in recent job adverts from 30 auto firms showed hourly salaries of 14 yuan ($1.93) to 31 yuan ($4.27), with Tesla, SAIC-GM, Li Auto and Xpeng at the higher end.
Auto worker Liu, 35, said he quit Changan Automobile's plant in Hefei in July after earning 4,000 yuan in both May and June, rather than the 7,000 he expected each month. Based on his past experiences, Liu was confident he would quickly find another auto job, but the market had turned.
"The good old days are gone," said Liu, speaking on condition of partial anonymity to protect his job prospects.
Changan Automobile said working hours and pay varied from worker to worker.
Several automakers including Mitsubishi Motors and Toyota have laid off thousands in China after sales slumped. Others such as Tesla and battery maker CATL have slowed hiring as they delayed expansions. Hyundai and its Chinese partner, meanwhile, are trying to sell a plant in Chongqing.
After Li Auto and Xpeng rejected him, Liu almost got a job at Chery's plant in the eastern port of Qingdao through a labor agent, but he refused to pay him a 32,000 yuan commission to secure the position.
"Some factories exhaust you and are willing to pay you more. Some factories exhaust you, but are stingy. Some factories don't exhaust you, but starve you as salaries are too low," Liu said.
"Maybe I'd be better off as a security worker in some office building."
