HTC cuts 15 percent of workforce amid weak sales

As expected, smartphone maker HTC has announced more layoffs, and the cuts are brutal. The company will let 15 percent of its workforce go (over 2,000 employees), due in large part to falling revenues and profits. Last week the company reported shaky financial results, which it chalked up to worse-than-expect sales of its HTC One M9 flagship. It’s also facing an ever-tightening smartphone market and more competition, especially from Chinese companies like Xiaomi and Huawei. The layoffs are part of a company-wide realignment, and CEO Cher Wang — who took the reigns from Peter Chou in March — tried to put that spin on it.

“This strategic realignment of our business will ensure that each product group has the right focus, the right resources and the right expertise,” she said. As we noted before, that focus will include more mid-range smartphone models, especially in growing markets like India. The company said it will also try to create growth by focusing on “profitable key areas of premium smartphones, virtual reality and connected lifestyle products.” That means it’s pinning hope on products like the Vive, which hasn’t even come to market yet. Hopefully, the company has something else up its sleeve if it wants to pull out of the current death spiral.

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Cellphones, Mobile

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Tags: HTCOne, Jobs, Layoffs, MarketShare, mobilepostcross, smartphoneos