Xiaomi begun large-scale layoffs this week, with plans to reduce its workforce by up to 10 percent.
The Chinese company said it had “recently implemented routine personnel optimization and organizational streamlining, with affected parties totalling less than 10% of total workforce,” in an official statement on Tuesday.
Xiaomi’s total headcount stood at 35,314 workers as of September 30, according to its third-quarter financial results for this year, with a large majority of those workers (32,609) based in mainland China followed by India and Indonesia.
News of the layoffs was was first reported by the South China Morning Post, citing social media posts by affected workers as well as local Chinese media. The layoffs at Xiaomi come as mainland China grapples with the economic aftermath of years-long COVID-19 restrictions as well as slowing global smartphone demand. In November, Xiaomi reported a near 10% drop in third quarter revenue with smartphone sales falling 11% year-on-year. Revenue from smartphones make up approximately 60% of the company’s total sales.
Xiaomi is one of the world’s largest smartphone makers. The Beijing-based company is estimated to have shipped more than 190 million smartphone units in 2021, which represents an increase of 45 million units compared to the year before, according to Statista.
The layoffs at Xiaomi follow a spate of layoffs across a number of Big Tech firms, which saw companies including Meta, Twitter, and Amazon undergo large-scale layoffs.
