jeweler's Shenzhen plant halts operations

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery (1929) has suspended production at its Shenzhen factory since June 1, as part of a move to relocate some operations to Shunde.

The company said relocating some of the production departments from Shenzhen to the Shunde factory would further adjust resources allocation and enhance operational efficiency.

Employees laid off in the exercise said the move came very suddenly.

"I had always planned to retire in Chow Tai Fook, and did not expect the factory to be gone suddenly," one of them told Lanjinger, a Chinese financial news outlet.

Affected staff may choose to accept the compensation and terminate the employment contract, or relocate to Shunde, the report said.

Chow Tai Fook has three plants in the mainland including Shenzhen, Shunde and Wuhan's Huangpi. While the Shunde plant is a high-value-added production base, the Shenzhen facilities are research and development-oriented.

The adjustment may reflect growing pressure from surging gold prices this year. Gold jewelry consumption fell 6 percent year-on-year to 184 tonnes in the first quarter, compared to a high base in the same period in 2023, data from the World Gold Council showed.

Same-store sales also dropped 2.7 percent in CTF's mainland stores for the three months ending in March this year.