The labour surplus and COVID-19: the outlook for Chinese migrant low-skilled workers

This paper investigates the disruption to global supply chains caused by COVID-19 and how such disruptions will affect the participation of Chinese businesses in those chains. The focus is on the post-COVID-19 outlook for migrant workers working in the hospitality and garment industries. It is argued that managers within global supply chains will use accounting processes to maintain profitability by cutting costs. Moreover, within corporate supply chains, wages will be driven down in an increasingly competitive labour market, especially for low-skilled workers. The findings show that COVID-19 will have an adverse effect on wages and employment and raise performance expectations.