China’s Trip.com Group Ltd. said it will offer childcare subsidies to employees for each newborn child through the age of five, part of a family-friendly program launched as birth rates decline in the world’s second-biggest economy.
Employees who have worked for the online tourism agency for three years or more will be eligible for an annual cash bonus of 10,000 yuan ($1,379) starting on their first birthday. The subsidy is part of a 1 billion yuan program the company is creating to promote working families and support employees in their planning, according to a statement published on Thursday.
While the rising cost of childrearing and higher education levels among women have contributed to declining fertility rates in China, some female employees also face high-pressure, potentially discriminatory work cultures that lead them to delay or abandon plans to have children. Some worry about losing opportunities for career advancement or even their jobs should they take several months of maternity leave or even just become pregnant.
