China: Lawsuit relating to employment contract termination based on AI adoption
Progress
Current status
concluded
28 Apr 2026 concluded
Scope
Implementers
China
Policy Area
Labour law
Policy Instrument
Worker classification or protection regulation
Regulated Economic Activity
ML and AI development
Government Branch
judiciary
Government Body
court
Implementation Level
national
Timeline of events
Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court issued judgment determining that companies cannot terminate employees solely to replace them with AI systems
On 28 April 2026, the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court ruled that companies cannot terminate employees solely to replace them with artificial intelligence (AI) systems. It was stated that the ruling was released as part of a set of typical cases…
SourceEvent type
public lawsuit
Action type
closure
Government branch
judiciary
Government body
court