Cui recounted the incident on July 21 at the opening ceremony of a summer internship program for 331 children of company employees.

The worker had lost his father at the age of two and was raised alone by his mother. Despite her sacrifices, he excluded her from his wedding because he felt ashamed of how she looked, the South China Morning Post reported.

"He lost his father at two, yet this is how he treated his mother?" Cui said while explaining the dismissal.

Cui Peijun, founder of Henan Lifting Machinery Company. Photo from Xiaohongshu

The employee’s mother had previously worked at the company’s factory. After she reached retirement age, Cui moved her to the logistics department while maintaining her salary.

The worker later returned to apologize and asked to be rehired, saying he would find it difficult to secure another job with similar pay and benefits. Cui refused, saying he could not continue employing someone he no longer respected.

The decision divided opinion on Chinese social media.

Some users backed Cui, arguing that companies can teach professional skills but cannot correct a person’s character. Others said filial piety is a private moral issue and warned that dismissing an employee over a family matter, rather than misconduct at work or poor performance, could violate his labor rights, according to Sina News.

Born in 1965 to a poor farming family in Henan, Cui left school at 14 and held a series of jobs before establishing his company in 2002.

The company places strong emphasis on personal responsibility and respect for parents rather than strict attendance systems or rigid performance targets.

In 2025, it recorded profits of US$37.2 million and distributed $24.8 million to employees as bonuses. The company also arranges trips for workers’ parents and organizes a year-end cash-counting game in which employees can keep whatever amount they manage to count.

Such policies have earned Cui the nickname "China’s most generous boss" in domestic media.