HTC Corp (宏達電) announced yesterday that it is to cut 15 percent of its global employee base as the company seeks profitable growth with a more agile operating model.
The company has 15,685 employees worldwide, according to its annual financial report, therefore the planned job cuts suggest that the Taiwanese smartphone maker is to layoff more than 2,300 staff, the largest lay off in the company’s history.
REDUCTIONS
Apart from reducing the number of employees worldwide, HTC also plans to streamline its operations through a 35 percent reduction in operating expenditure, the company said in a statement, without giving further details.
The company’s business realignment includes establishing new business units — premium smartphones, virtual reality (VR) and Internet-connected lifestyle products — in a bid to create greater focus in its key areas, the statement said.
DIVERSIFYING
“As we diversify beyond smartphones, we need a flexible and dynamic organization to ensure we can take advantage of all of the exciting opportunities in the connected lifestyle space,” HTC chairwoman and chief executive officer Cher Wang (王雪紅) said in the statement.
“This strategic realignment of our business will ensure that each product group has the right focus, the right resources and the right expertise to win new markets,” Wang said.
SUSPENDED
In a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday, HTC confirmed that it has suspended the sale of a larger model of its flagship HTC One M9 in the Netherlands due to issues with its 4G LTE connectivity.
HTC shares plunged 7.82 percent to NT$50.7 in Taipei trading yesterday and have plummeted 21.43 percent in the past week, after the company announced last week that it could have from NT$5.51 to NT$5.85 in net losses per share this quarter.
The company posted a loss per share of NT$9.7 last quarter.
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