Erinome: Hello dear friends, welcome to our podcast! Today we are going to talk about Romoss, a Chinese power bank company. You know, they had a lot of problems before, but now... guess what? They are hiring again! Enceladus, have you heard about this?
Enceladus: Wait, Romoss? The one with the power bank explosion problems? Oh no, I thought they were going bankrupt! Really hiring now?
Erinome: Yeah! According to Qichacha (企查查), on August 12th, Romoss started recruiting again. The first job is "Gift Channel Sales".
Enceladus: Gift Channel Sales? What do they need that for? And what are the requirements?
Erinome: The job needs people with at least 3 years of gift sales experience, a bachelor’s degree, and 3 years work experience. The salary is 12k to 30k yuan per month. Oh, and the office is in Shenzhen, Guangdong.
Enceladus: 30k per month! Wow, that’s not low. But why suddenly hire this position? The news says "the reason is unknown".
Erinome: Right, no one knows. Also, on some job platforms, they are still hiring an "ID Design Director". But the HR for that job isn’t online often, you know?
Enceladus: Hmm. But wait, before this, Romoss had big troubles, right? I remember hearing about power bank explosions.
Erinome: Oh yes! In June, many universities in Beijing told students to stop using certain Romoss power banks because they had "higher explosion risk". That was a big problem for their reputation.
Enceladus: So what did Romoss do then?
Erinome: They wanted to sue to protect their reputation, but that backfired! The government checked them more strictly, and their 3C certificate was suspended. Oh no, that’s bad for production.
Enceladus: 3C certificate? So they can’t make or sell products without it?
Erinome: Exactly! Then they had to recall 490,000 power banks. All employees became "customer service"! One employee said they worked from 9 am to 11 pm every day at first, then changed to morning and evening shifts.
Enceladus: That’s so tiring! Did things get worse after the recall?
Erinome: Oh yes! Many employees and suppliers went to their Shenzhen office to ask for money. The employees said the top bosses "disappeared". Like, no one saw them.
Enceladus: Disappeared? Where did they go?
Erinome: Some employees said the 5 core bosses flew to Malaysia right after the problem! And the legal representative changed 3 times in 3 months. That’s crazy!
Enceladus: Wow, that’s not good. What about the other employees?
Erinome: Sad story. When they tried to get their personal things from the office, their door access was canceled! Only about 20 people are still working there. They thought it was a hidden way to fire people.
Enceladus: Oh no, that’s unfair. Then why did they stop production?
Erinome: In July, they said they would stop production for 6 months. They couldn’t pay July’s salary on time, and later salaries would be Shenzhen’s minimum wage. Only 1-2 people per department stayed for收尾 work.
Enceladus: So with all that, why hire now? They almost had no people left!
Erinome: Maybe they want to try to save the company? Also, another job: "Industrial Design Consultant" with salary 40k to 55k yuan per month! That’s even higher. But the HR for that job was online 2 hours ago when reporters checked, but didn’t reply.
Enceladus: 55k! That’s a lot. But do they have money to pay? They had a stock problem too, right?
Erinome: Oh yes! They have finished products with their logo, worth at least 50 million yuan. If the 3C certificate isn’t back by end of September, all these stocks must be destroyed by law.
Enceladus: 50 million yuan! If destroyed, they really might go bankrupt. When is the certificate deadline?
Erinome: The suspension can’t be more than 3 months. So end of September is the key. If no certificate then, no production, no sales.
Enceladus: So their future depends on September?
Erinome: Exactly. The news says "we’ll know by National Day". Also, two years ago, some employees noticed problems with the power bank外壳 (waike - shell) and 电芯 (dianxin - battery cells). They questioned the supplier’s quality, but the company didn’t act.
Enceladus: Oh, so this problem wasn’t sudden. They ignored it before.
Erinome: Right, "冰冻三尺，非一日之寒" (Bing dong san chi, fei yi ri zhi han - Rome wasn’t built in a day, but here it’s the opposite). At their peak, they had about 500 employees. Now only 20+ in Shenzhen office. So sad, right?
Enceladus: Yeah, really a pity. They also said "we are not bankrupt" on their Weibo in July, but then stopped production. That’s confusing.
Erinome: Maybe they’re trying to stay positive? But with bosses in Malaysia, employees angry, and stock risks... Do you think they can survive?
Enceladus: Hard to say. Hiring might be a sign, but 30k salary needs money. If the certificate comes back, maybe. If not... goodbye.
Erinome: What do you think, dear listeners? Will Romoss go bankrupt, or find a new light? Let us know your ideas!
