(Yicai) Aug. 16 -- Chinese car and battery giant BYD has launched the second large-scale recruitment at its Zhengzhou factory this year amid a talent shortage in China's new energy vehicle industry.

BYD plans to directly hire 4,000 employees in Zhengzhou within a month, with the most need for frontline workers, the Shenzhen-based company told Yicai yesterday. Salaries range from CNY5,000 to CNY9,000 (USD700 to USD1,255) a month, it added.

Labor shortage in China's NEV sector may exceed 1 million by next year, according to data the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology previously released. The NEV maintenance field will face an 80 percent talent gap.

The labor shortage is far more than 1 million people, and the scarcest is cross-disciplinary talent, noted Shen Fei, vice president of electric car startup Nio. The development of NEVs in China brings opportunities for the industry but also a talent shortage challenge, added Xiong Tianbo, general manager of BYD's Fangchengbao brand.

BYD plans to significantly increase production at the Zhengzhou plant this quarter and the next and likely recruit at least 3,000 more employees by next month, according to a source at the factory. Frontline workers, who need to use auxiliary equipment in initial assembly, are the scarcest, with requirements including being at least 18 years old and having a middle school education, the person added.

A vehicle rolls out of the Zhengzhou plant's assembly line once every less than a minute while batteries every 30 seconds, the source noted, adding that the biggest hurdle to boost production is the lack of workers.

BYD's Zhengzhou factory mainly produces the Song L DM-i, with deliveries of the plug-in hybrid mid-size crossover sport utility vehicle exceeding 10,000 units soon after it launched last month.

More and more auto positions will emerge, expanding the talent gap, said Yang Dacheng, vice president of Zeekr Intelligent Technology, the electric vehicle arm of China's Geely Holding Group.

Earlier this month, BYD held two on-site job fairs in Xiaomo in the Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone to recruit over 300 mechanics, including product assemblers, injection molding operators, surface treatment technicians, cladding workers, and glue spray operators. It offered monthly wages between CNY6,000 and CNY10,000 (USD835 and USD1,395), accommodation, and a welfare canteen.

Some factories in the second phase of the CNY20 billion (USD2.8 billion) Shenzhen-Shanwei BYD Automobile Industrial Park have become fully operational, while others are under accelerated construction and urgently need many skilled workers to expand production. The park is expected to provide 36,000 jobs.

Editor: Martin Kadiev