When it comes to competing construction companies in China, they take their jobs very seriously. When arguments break out and tempers boil over, they settle their differences in a method that would make even the lowliest warrior proud: smashing into each other with heavy machinery.
According to the AP, this clash happened in Northern China and featured two competing construction companies smashing, flipping, and crashing into each other while people watched. And despite the pure craziness you see in the video, there’s a very serious reason for these conflict:
The construction workers were from two companies competing for business, Xu Feng, a local government spokesman in Hebei province’s Xingtang county, said Monday. He said he couldn’t disclose details about arrests or injuries until an investigation concludes.
China’s construction sector has fallen on hard times, with growth down by two-thirds from its peak a decade ago. Real estate construction represents close to a quarter of China’s economy, a far higher proportion than other major countries, and its slowdown is now sending ripples through industrial sectors such as steel, glass and cement, causing waves of layoffs.
It’s a reminder of the old days, something out of the clashes between union bosses and company men ahead of World War II. Except this is in China, in broad daylight, and it features warring construction equipment. It would make my father cry if he could see it.