Esse Zhang is waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Zhang, who works for an American company in eastern China, has been anxious as rumours of lay-offs rippled through her office.

In June, her boyfriend, who worked for the same company at a different factory, was among those let go.

The company supplies car interiors for overseas brands, with US carmakers Ford and General Motors its biggest customers, 25-year-old Zhang said, but some production was being moved to Mexico and Vietnam.

Zhang and her boyfriend were among about 800 workers at the two factories. She said she had heard that her workplace, in Jiangsu province, is set to close shortly after Lunar New Year.

Foreign companies are reducing the number of people they employ in China amid a decline in overall foreign investment, with the cuts driven by rising labour costs, fierce competition, a slowdown in economic growth and heightened geopolitical risks.