LeEco fires 85% staff, denies reports of exiting India business

Bengaluru: Chinese technology company LeEco on Friday denied media reports that it is planning to quit it's India operations amid news of the company facing financial crunch.

"India is one the most strategic markets for LeEco," the company said in a statement, adding that it is rather looking its extending its bouquet of offering with launch of its next generation television in the country.

The Economic Times had reported on Friday that the company was firing 85 percent of the staff of its Indian arm and was looking to exit operations in the country.

The newspaper had reported that a senior executive, with a marketplace doing business with LeEco, on conditions of anonymity had said that the company plans to exit India as it is finding it tough to find a winning formula, and demonetisation has worsened matters.

"LeEco is in serious financial trouble and has, as a consequence, practically ceased India operations. The staff layoffs are a direct consequence of this. Even in the previous quarter, their shipments were close to zero," Jaideep Mehta, Managing Director, IDC South Asia, told IANS.

The company which sells smartphones, television sets and related accessories in India said that its headcount in India is "well aligned to the scale of operations envisioned and in line with industry benchmarks,”. 

The newspaper report had further said that the layoffs at LeEco followed the resignation of its smart electronics business Chief Operating Officer Atul Jain and internet applications, service and content business Chief Operating Officer Debashish Ghosh.

LeEco’s billionaire owner Jia Yueting, had allegedly sent an alarming letter to all his employees in November 2016, writing that companies finances were overstretched as “globalization had gone too far”. Both the Mumbai and Delhi offices of the company are said to be left with minimal staff, while firings are on in its Bengaluru research and development centres.