Ministers fear some of those being laid off are victims of discrimination by bosses seeking to avoid costs associated with the introduction of longer maternity leave and new flexible working rights.
There is no tension, no feeling that one more patient will bring the whole system to the point of collapse, and all the staff go off with nervous breakdowns.
'It's a worry because companies already feel they are vulnerable in China to having their proprietary technology stolen,' said an executive at a finance company.