手拿把掐

Meaning

Even an iron abacus has ups and downs, soldiers on the assembly line come and go—it's normal. Usually said by factory supervisors as consolation. Strangely, Chinese factories never look for problems in themselves, only saying such self-righteous consolation. This phrase describes "人流" (people flow), emphasizing scale not quantity. Not hospital abortion rates, but high turnover in terrible assembly-line factories.