Biguiyuan Launches Rehiring Plan? Will Gradually Enter "Operational Recovery" Restructuring Phase This Year

Question: How does AI · Country Garden’s rehiring plan reflect new signals of business recovery?

Recently, market reports indicated that Country Garden has issued the “Resigned Employee Rehiring Management Measures,” aiming for a “large-scale recall of veteran employees.” This rehiring policy is designed “to ensure orderly business progress, align with the company’s development pace during the recovery phase, and meet new project development needs,” and includes regulations on rehire personnel’s seniority, resignation duration, past performance, and salary determination methods.

In response, Country Garden told reporters that the adjustment of the “Resigned Employee Rehiring Management Measures” is a routine revision of existing policies, not a new policy. The company has established a regular review mechanism for management systems, which annually assesses and optimizes existing policies based on operational realities and management needs.

In fact, rehiring is also a common method for Country Garden to supplement its talent pool. “Excellent talent is the driving force behind the company’s sustainable development. The company’s talent recruitment always revolves around actual business needs, utilizing multiple channels such as internal top talent, rehiring outstanding employees, and external social recruitment,” said Country Garden.

However, the widespread market attention to this news reflects industry expectations that a once-leading real estate enterprise is on the path to operational improvement.

Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, believes that this move signals a substantial shift in Country Garden’s operational focus after undergoing deep adjustments, as the company begins to reinforce existing businesses and gradually enter a “business recovery” restructuring phase.

Since 2021, when the industry entered a period of adjustment, major real estate companies have undergone various organizational restructuring and large-scale layoffs to cut costs as much as possible. According to Wind data, Country Garden’s total staff peaked at over 130,000 in 2018, then steadily declined to less than 23,000 by the end of 2024, a reduction of over 80%.

Yan Yuejin pointed out that this data vividly reflects that during the deep industry adjustment over the past few years, companies had to adopt extreme balance sheet contraction and cost reduction measures to survive. Behind this is the harsh reality that the operational order of real estate firms was thoroughly disrupted after facing crises.

By the end of 2025, with the completion of domestic and overseas debt restructuring and the successful delivery of key projects, Country Garden is reaching a point to return to normal operations.

Yang Huiyan, Chairwoman of Country Garden Group, stated at the early February 2026 work conference that 2026 is the “final year for project delivery.” She emphasized the goal of completing most delivery tasks by mid-2026 to free up resources for balance sheet repair and normal operations. The so-called “normal operation” is marked by positive operating cash flow, with the ultimate goal of achieving positive overall cash flow and profits.

Mo Bin, Co-Chairman of Country Garden, also stressed that completing project delivery is the top priority, and that balance sheet repair requires time to create space, while restoring normal operations is key—only through development can real problems be effectively solved.

At the management meeting in March, Yang Huiyan reiterated that since the deep industry adjustment, Country Garden has endured a difficult self-rescue, actively exploring debt resolution paths while ensuring project delivery. 2026 is the starting year of the “14th Five-Year Plan” and a critical year for the company to shift from project delivery to normal operations. The next 3-5 years are crucial for Country Garden to build up strength.

Looking ahead 3-5 years, the company’s strategic focus will center on “building core competitiveness.” Talent is indispensable in this process. Yan Yuejin mentioned that supplementing the business team through rehiring signals a “steady progress” in project development and operations, especially since rehired employees are familiar with the company’s processes and culture, enabling faster implementation of new projects.

“This case may also indicate that some leading distressed real estate companies, after making progress in debt restructuring and stabilizing core operations, are beginning to pre-prepare talent for future development,” Yan Yuejin believes. He sees a positive recovery trend among distressed real estate firms.

(This article is from Yicai)