This wave of salary increases—is it a springtime for the entire industry, or merely a solo performance by the leading enterprises? Recently, top companies have successively announced salary hikes. By the end of 2025, ByteDance declared a 35% increase in bonus investments and a 1.5-fold rise in salary adjustment budgets. CATL and BYD Company Limited also followed suit by raising wages for their frontline employees. Although the amounts were modest, considering the manufacturing sector's traditional emphasis on cost control coupled with their massive workforce, such a widespread, proactive, across-the-board increase is notably rare. JD.com also officially announced that 92% of its employees received their full annual bonuses, with procurement and sales staff averaging 25 months' pay. As year-end approaches, companies often use substantial bonuses to boost morale and attract attention; this time, however, the moves signal something beyond routine practice: a systematic enhancement of fixed salaries, aiming to solidify the foundational income base for employees. When industry leaders collectively shift direction, it often heralds a change in trends. So, what is the signal this time?
ByteDance took the lead. At the end of 2025, ByteDance issued an all-staff letter announcing increased investment in talent to enhance the competitiveness of compensation and stock option incentives. Specifically, for the 2025 annual performance review cycle, the budget for salary adjustments would be 1.5 times higher than the previous cycle, aimed at increasing employees' total compensation packages; concurrently, bonus investments would rise by 35% year-over-year, used to boost the incentive months for employees rated M and above in annual performance. This implies that both the floor (starting salary) and the ceiling of employee total compensation packages have been raised accordingly. ByteDance stated in the letter that this move is intended to ensure that employee compensation competitiveness and incentive returns lead top-tier levels across all markets.
Following closely, CATL also announced its salary increase plan. Compared to ByteDance's somewhat complex scheme, CATL's approach was straightforward and direct: raising the base salary for employees at JG1-6 grades in its headquarters and wholly-owned subsidiaries, with monthly increases ranging between 100 and 200 yuan. After the news broke, CATL's salary hike trended on social media, where public opinion was sharply divided. Some praised the move, commenting that "an increase of 150 yuan is still an increase, better than nothing" and "a little more salary brings a little more happiness"; however, others pointed out that in the first half of 2025, CATL averaged nearly 170 million yuan in daily net profit, making the amount shared with employees seem minuscule. Nevertheless, considering the vast number of employees, the total sum of CATL's salary increase is not insignificant. Financial reports show that in H1 2025, CATL had approximately 147,700 employees, with total compensation costs of 18.08 billion yuan, accounting for about 10.11% of the company's revenue. If only JG1-6 grade employees are considered, the total monthly salary increase could approach 20 million yuan. For the manufacturing industry, which consistently emphasizes cost control, such a broad, voluntary, across-the-board raise is indeed uncommon.
BYD Company Limited, announcing its salary increase after CATL, offered a larger raise—ranging from 500 to 3,000 yuan. According to a report, the core logic of this adjustment is "more rewards for better performance," with different performance levels corresponding to clear increase gradients; most employees who met performance standards saw their monthly salaries rise by around 1,000 yuan. However, BYD did not disclose the specific number of employees affected or the corresponding increase distribution. Beyond general salary hikes, showcasing annual bonuses is another year-end routine for major tech firms. JD.com's announced 2025 year-end bonus plan revealed that 92% of employees received their full or even exceeded their expected bonuses, with total bonus investment increasing by over 70% year-over-year. In recent years, procurement and sales have been the core of JD.com's business; while other departments might receive 19 or 20 months' pay, procurement and sales staff will average 25 months' pay, with no upper limit. On paper, this appears to be a massive wave of salary increases. But has this pay rise truly been a "universal blessing"?
Online, some have dubbed 2026 the "Year of Salary Increases," predicting widespread pay raises across various industries. However, this may not align with the actual experiences of many ordinary individuals. A simple logic prevails: salaries and bonuses are tied to company performance; when profits are good, benefits naturally follow; but if performance is mediocre, promotions and raises may remain elusive. Looking at the companies that have announced raises, they are all leaders in their respective fields, with employee salary increases representing an overflow of corporate development dividends. Even within these leading companies, the salary hikes show clear prioritization. Most incentive measures preferentially favor high-performing and key-position employees, with limited strength in universal, across-the-board benefits. Feedback from frontline employees indicates that the vast majority of performance ratings cluster in the middle tiers, with high incentives reserved more for core staff. Actual year-end bonus distributions primarily fluctuate reasonably around performance agreements, with breakthrough enhancements still being relatively rare. For instance, as reported, at BYD, most employees received increases in the thousand-yuan range, while a minority of top-performing core technical talents or management saw direct jumps of 4,500 yuan per month. Middle and back-office departments like administration, branding, and marketing in large companies naturally find themselves lower in the priority queue for raises and bonuses. But as netizens say, "any increase is better than none." In contrast, the financial sector, which has seen salary reductions in recent years, holds lower expectations for pay raises and bonuses. A bank executive from Jiangsu province commented, "First, consider if there's any [bonus pool], then think about distribution."
The flip side of salary increases is heightened pressure. "Ordinary employees get a few hundred yuan more, but they need to work overtime daily to meet targets, so the pressure intensifies," a senior headhunter revealed. Typically, large companies set KPI targets a quarter or half a year in advance; when growth hits a ceiling and competition enters deeper waters, the targets and performance pressure placed on each individual inevitably increase. "One VP-level manager previously had an annual salary of 500,000 yuan, which increased by only 20%, adding 100,000 yuan. But last year's KPI was 50 million yuan, and this year it was raised to 100 million—the task doubled," the headhunter added. "The money isn't easy to earn, which is why some people complain." Furthermore, for average employees, whether they can receive the "full" bonus remains uncertain. In JD.com's year-end bonus scheme, it was specified that departments like procurement and sales could receive 25 months' pay, but some middle and back-office departments were unaware of their specific bonus multipliers. A long-term employee from JD's middle/back-office stated that they currently do not know what their department's pay multiple is, as it's kept confidential until disbursement, noting that not everyone receives the high amount—only the top performers do.
As the internet transitions from a "traffic economy" to an "AI economy" and new energy supplants old energy, the logic behind this salary increase wave becomes clearer. From the corporate perspective, this is an inevitability as industries move into deeper competitive waters. A report on AI talent supply and demand revealed that among AI-related positions, those offering annual salaries above 500,000 yuan accounted for the highest proportion, at 30.9%, whereas across all job positions, only 5.36% offered such salaries. Another report indicated that recruitment demand for core technical roles like algorithm engineers grew by 80% year-over-year, while positions for AI product managers surged by 178%. The significant talent gap inevitably drives salaries and bonuses higher. ByteDance emphasized in its internal letter the goal to lead top levels in "global markets," attracting outstanding global talent and ensuring it's "never too late to join"—marking ByteDance's first clear stance on global talent competition. To support this goal, ByteDance adjusted its original 9-grade level system to a 10-grade system. The two systems do not correspond one-to-one; for example, original levels 1-1 and 1-2 were merged into the new L1, and a new L10 was added. This finer gradation means clearer promotion pathways for employees. Although CATL and BYD operate in different sectors from ByteDance, they have benefited from the new energy transition红利. Sharing corporate profits with employees is not only a corporate governance necessity but also aligns with policy directions aimed at stimulating consumption and expanding domestic demand. Manufacturing has always been labor-intensive, with large employee numbers but generally lower pay compared to the internet industry. In H1 2025, CATL had nearly 150,000 employees, with an average salary of about 122,000 yuan—significantly lower than the internet industry's typical total compensation packages of 400,000 to 500,000 yuan. Increasing the income of this demographic and unleashing their consumption power can significantly boost domestic demand. The Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2025 listed "formulating and implementing a plan to increase urban and rural residents' income" as a primary task for 2026. Compared to previous statements, a notable change was the upgrade from "promoting" income growth to "formulating and implementing," indicating that related measures will accelerate. The underlying logic is straightforward: to expand domestic demand, people need to have money in their pockets and the confidence to spend. Corporate salary hikes indicate that "investing in people" is becoming a consensus. Essentially, this salary increase wave is a positioning battle among leading firms in new sectors. Whether this trend will extend to more industries and more people remains a question only time can answer.
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