Shanxi Rural Credit Cooperatives has made an announcement on Monday that it will investigate into the case of its branch spanking employees in Changzhi, north China's Shanxi province.

A video went viral online in which a trainer hired by the said Changzhi Rural Commercial Bank spanked the employees on stage with a plank. "Why you ranked the lowest today?" The trainer is caught on tape asking, and the employees waited in a row to answer, "Because I have not exceeded myself”. Then the trainer spanked them from behind. One employee could be seen apparently in unbearable pain that she jumped out of the row.

The announcement made by the Shanxi Rural Credit Cooperatives said that this was a "Breakthrough in Performance" training session for their employees. The trainers were hired from "Hongfeng Leadership Academy" in Shanghai. One of the trainers graded their performance on June 18, and punished those who ranked bottom by spanking and cutting hair.

The bank said it has stopped the training session, asked the Leadership Academy and its trainer to openly apologize, and suspended several managing personnels from the branch. Economic compensation is in discussion for the spanked employees, said the announcement.