The salary increase wave for all giants

This is a welcome scene.

Yesterday (December 25), JD.com announced its year-end bonus announcement for 2025: 92% of employees across the entire JD Group received full or even exceeded year-end bonuses, with total year-end bonus investment increasing by more than 70% year-on-year, and JD's procurement and sales are " uncapped."

Not long ago, ByteDance also announced a 35% increase in bonus investment for 2025, with salary adjustments rising 1.5 times. Almost at the same time, super giants like BYD and CATL began to raise salaries for their employees.

It reminds me that not long ago, the Central Economic Work Conference outlined the key tasks for next year's economic work, with the first point being - to formulate and implement a plan for increasing the income of urban and rural residents. Undoubtedly, companies actively raising wages and issuing bonuses to employees have an immediate effect.

"I hope this wave of salary increases can blow over to me soon." As the year-end approaches, workers have new hopes.

JD.com and ByteDance Announce: Salary Increase!

The big companies have started to compete on salaries.

Starting with JD.com. In fact, as early as September last year, JD.com announced a 20 salary upgrade plan, stating that from October 1, 2024, JD Retail Group and functional systems will achieve 20 salaries over two years, and other departments will gradually start salary increases thereafter.

According to this salary increase plan, JD.com's year-end bonuses continue to rise significantly this year, with upgraded departments achieving 19 salaries this year, and some business units achieving 20 salaries ahead of schedule. In addition, front-line employees' year-end bonuses will still be distributed before the end of the year.

Overall, JD.com's total year-end bonus investment for 2025 is expected to increase by more than 70% year-on-year, which is expected to set the largest increase in the industry this year. Specifically -

In departments upgraded to 19 salaries this year:

• Employees with annual performance A+ will receive a year-end bonus of 10 times their monthly salary, totaling 22 salaries for the year;
• Employees with annual performance A will receive a year-end bonus of 9 times their monthly salary, totaling 21 salaries for the year;
• Employees with annual performance B+ will receive a year-end bonus of 7 times their monthly salary, totaling 19 salaries for the year.

In departments that achieved 20 salaries ahead of schedule this year:

• Employees with annual performance B+ can receive a year-end bonus of 8 times their monthly salary, totaling 20 salaries for the year;
• Employees with annual performance A+ will directly receive a year-end bonus of 12 times their monthly salary, totaling 24 salaries for the year.

Even more enviable is that JD's procurement and sales will achieve an average of 25 salaries this year, and it is "uncapped."

This is already the seventh time JD.com has increased employee compensation incentives in the past year. It is worth mentioning that when JD.com laid out its delivery business this year, it took the lead in paying social insurance for full-time riders, promoting the industry into the "five insurances and one fund era."

ByteDance also made a big move. On December 19, ByteDance released a letter to all employees announcing: an increase in bonus (including performance options) investment, with the performance evaluation cycle for the entire year of 2025 increased by 35% compared to the previous cycle; a significant increase in salary adjustment investment, rising 1.5 times compared to the previous cycle; and an increase in the lower limit (starting salary) and upper limit (ceiling) of total compensation for all job levels.

In this regard, ByteDance explained in the email that the industry is facing new opportunities and challenges, and the company hopes to better incentivize and retain outstanding talent, while also attracting global top talent to join the company, ensuring that "it's never too late to join." Looking at the major internet companies, ByteDance's salaries have always been attractive. According to several hot job postings released on its social media platform, positions such as "Overseas Commercialization - Algorithm Expert" can earn a monthly salary of up to 80,000 yuan, "Intelligent Editing Technology Expert" can earn up to 70,000 yuan, and the monthly salary for campus recruitment positions like model algorithm engineers can reach 60,000 yuan, which is quite impressive.

Of course, behind this is a fierce talent competition. Moreover, the atmosphere is becoming increasingly intense.

The Salary Increase Wave Has Arrived

This trend has also reached the intelligent manufacturing sector.

First, there is CATL. A notice released by CATL regarding "Salary Adjustment for Employees at Levels 1-6" shows that CATL has decided to increase the basic salary of employees at levels 1-6—specifically production line operators, technicians, and other frontline grassroots employees—by 150 yuan starting from January 1, 2026, while other salary structures remain unchanged.

Once the news broke, it quickly trended on social media, with some netizens jokingly calling it "a drop in the bucket," while others believed that "even a grasshopper's leg is meat, it's better than nothing."

In addition to salary increases, CATL also announced a Spring Festival reward plan for employees who stay on the job: during the 2026 Spring Festival, those who meet attendance requirements can receive an additional reward of at least 3,200 yuan, applicable to CATL and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and battery and materials manufacturing bases across ten departments, covering MEVEOPNJG1-10 level employees.

With a market value of 1.7 trillion yuan, CATL's profitability is astonishing. Looking at the third quarter of 2025 alone, its revenue was 104.185 billion yuan, an increase of 12.90%, and its net profit was 18.549 billion yuan, an increase of 41.21%. Roughly calculated, "King Ning" earns about 200 million yuan a day.

BYD has also joined in. Recently, news has circulated on social media that BYD is implementing salary increases for its technical research and development personnel—ranging from 500 yuan to 3,000 yuan, with the highest increase being 4,500 yuan. In response, BYD confirmed that "the salary increase is true," but did not disclose the extent of the increases or the number of employees involved.

Additionally, there is WuXi AppTec, which has a market value of over 270 billion yuan. Industry insiders report that WuXi AppTec has completed two salary adjustments in 2025: a differentiated annual salary increase based on individual performance in April, and a special salary adjustment for the chemical business platform at the end of November, covering 90% of formal employees, with an average adjustment ratio exceeding 12%.

What makes workers envious is that yesterday, WuXi AppTec distributed the "Sunshine Award" for 2025—2,500 yuan per person, covering all employees, regardless of position or performance. It is said that this is an old tradition of this biopharmaceutical giant, and this year it is 500 yuan more than in previous years.

From this perspective, from technology and manufacturing to new energy and pharmaceuticals, the giants are collectively signaling salary increases, hinting at a broader trend.

Behind the Salary Increase: Encouraging Strong Consumption

The trend has already emerged.

Let’s first mention the broader context. For a long time, the proportion of residents' income in China's GDP has been relatively low, around 40%, while developed countries hover around 70%, and the global average is also around 60% Looking at the consumption level again, the contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth reached 53.5% in the first three quarters of 2025. Although this is an improvement compared to previous years, there is still a gap compared to developed countries.

Expanding domestic demand consumption has become a crucial battle.

The Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded on December 11 this year, clearly proposed "formulating and implementing a plan to increase the income of urban and rural residents." A close reading reveals that this expression is significantly different from previous years; on one hand, this year it no longer focuses solely on the low- and middle-income groups, but almost covers all demographics. On the other hand, compared to last year's proposal of "promoting," this year it is "formulating and implementing," which means moving from plan formulation to concrete implementation.

A few days later, Qiushi published "Firmly Implementing the Strategy of Expanding Domestic Demand," which provided a more specific expression regarding the resident income increase plan: "Implement the plan to increase the income of urban and rural residents, increase the proportion of residents' income in national income distribution, and increase the proportion of labor remuneration in primary distribution."

Clearly, the most direct and effective way to increase residents' income is to raise wages. This will further unleash the consumption potential of Chinese residents, making everyone wealthier and more willing to spend, thereby creating a more balanced growth momentum between domestic and external demand.

While doing well and enlarging the "cake," it is also necessary to further distribute the "cake" properly. According to data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, since 2025, more than 20 provinces have raised the minimum wage standard: the first-tier monthly minimum wage standard has exceeded 2,000 yuan. Among them, Shanghai leads the country with 2,740 yuan. At the same time, Beijing, Tianjin, and Guangdong also have minimum wages exceeding 2,500 yuan, while Shenzhen's minimum wage standard is separately announced at 2,520 yuan.

On the other hand, super giants represented by JD.com, ByteDance, CATL, and BYD have taken the lead. After all, when residents become wealthier and their consumption capacity increases, it can stimulate domestic demand.

Everything has just begun.

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