BEIJING, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The CEO of China's Ji Yue

Auto was surrounded by people demanding to know how they would

be paid, videos posted online on Thursday showed, a day after

the EV maker said it would streamline operations to cope with

fierce market competition.

The Baidu Inc ( BIDU ) and Geely joint venture

said on Wednesday it would seek fresh funding and cut projects,

becoming one of a number of smaller start-ups to admit to

struggles amid a bruising price war in the world's largest auto

market.

But in an unusual move, several videos as well as

livestreams from its Shanghai headquarters were posted online,

showing dozens of people, some wearing employee lanyards,

surrounding CEO Xia Yiping demanding to know when they would be

paid.

Ji Yue's statement on Wednesday did not mention staff

payment issues but asked suppliers for their support. It also

did not mention any job cuts, but said that it was looking to

merge departments and positions that had duplicate functions.

Xia, whose face can be seen clearly in videos, was

pictured engaging calmly with them and telling them not to be

angry. He also repeatedly answered that he was seeking to solve

the problems.

Reuters verified the location of video but could not

verify when it was filmed or the identity of the people around

Xia.

Sales people managing the livestreaming rooms belonging to

Ji Yue stores in Chinese cities from Chengdu to Shenzhen also

went on camera to discuss the situation with viewers, saying

they would no longer receive their salaries and seeking tips on

how to find new jobs.

Media representatives for Ji Yue, which local media reported

has a workforce of about 5,000 people, declined to comment when

asked about the scenes at the headquarters and stores. Geely,

which has a 65% stake in Ji Yue, and Baidu ( BIDU ), which owns the

remaining 35% share, did not respond to requests for comment.

Calls to several of Ji Yue's stores went unanswered on

Thursday.

The troubles being played out on screens in real time will

likely "accelerate the demise of smaller brands being

marginalized" in a market with more than 130 active EV and

hybrid brands, said John Zeng, head of market forecast for China

at London-based consultancy GlobalData.

Consumers would increasingly pivot toward current market

leaders, he added.

Baidu ( BIDU ) and Geely founded the company as Jidu Auto in early

2021 and rebranded it as Ji Yue last year. It has two models,

the Jiyue 01 EV and Jiyue 07 EV, which together as of September

accumulated total sales of 9,767 units, according to the China

Association of Automobile Manufacturers.