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LeEco India massively slashes workforce, is it the end?
MUMBAI: It came in like a storm with booming announcements about the humungous investments ($200 million, according to news reports) it intends to make in content in India for its LeEco content ecosystem.
It hired quick and fast and before you knew it the media went to town about how great Chinese smart phone, TV maker and online content aggregator LeEco India is.
But early into the new year, the company silently started the process of cutbacks, and has nearly shuttered its Mumbai operations. Some 400 employees were asked to take a month’s pay check in lieu of their notice period and leave.
Insiders state that LeEco COO Indian content Debashish Ghosh, marketing head Divya Dixit, commissioning editor Harini Calumur, subscription head Jayahsree Sriram, among a slew of other professionals quit. No information was available at the time of writing on whether LeEco India head Atul Jain had also been shown the door.
It looks like the dot com boom to bust story is set for a repeat in the VOD segment where a gaggle of players has set up shop. And LeEco might be the first of the many carcasses that could line the streets of streaming scorporate-dom.
Former employees claim that LeEco India is a victim of the spending spree hangover its international business has been experiencing. The company has been in a bit of a bind financially and the squeeze was felt in India. And how!
LeEco’s founder and chief executive Jia Yueting had in a mail to employees in January said that the firm had burnt cash too quickly as it expanded into other businesses, including smartphones, driverless cars, etc.
Chinese real estate firm Sunac China Holdings reportedly invested about $2.18 billion in the company a couple of months ago, giving it a bit of a breather.
Hence, the company decided to go into pause mode, relook at its business strategy for the Indian market, which is among the ones it sees a lot of promise in, apart from the US.
The buzz is that of the overall estimated 400 employees based out of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, 250 were issued pink slips sometime during late last year and over the new year.
Its Delhi and Bengaluru offices also underwent heavy downsizing is what company insiders told indiantelevision.com.
Says a senior manager: “It came as a shocker to everyone. LeEco invested too much money in India and hired a lot of people in one go. The business model went wrong,” said a source. “We had little to do but play games as money had totally dried up in the last few months and found it challenging to honour our commitments to our partners.”
LeEco India had also planned to set up a device manufacturing company in Noida but that plan was cancelled a few months ago. The company also exited its offline sales of smartphones and slashed its advertising budgets.
Media pundits say that demonetisation further hit its operations, deepening the crisis.
Apart from India, the company had major plans for the US and other territories.
LeEco forayed into the Indian smartphone market with the launch of a few smart phones over the past year under online sales partnerships with ecommerce platform Flipkart. It rolled out its line of TVs too in India,
It also inked content partnerships with over-the-top (OTT) players Eros Now, YuppTV and Hungama. Content from VOD platforms was pre-bundled with the purchase of the phones.
The company also planned to produce its own content for India.
But that will have to wait for a while. Until it gets its business plans sorted out.
(The article had earlier stated that the company had 700 people of which 630 were issued pink slips. It also stated that senior management was shown the door; they actually resigned.)
Also read:
LeEco to produce content for India; launches new phone with ‘Supertainment’ package
Debashish Ghosh to join LeEco as COO
Will LeEco’s device-content bundling strategy pay off in India?
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33 per cent of women believe the salary scale is rigged: Naukri report
Voices @ Work study finds rising calls for equal pay audits and lingering bias
MUMBAI: Progress may be visible in India’s workplaces, but many women still feel the need to tread carefully. A new report by Naukri reveals that one in two women hesitate to disclose marriage or maternity plans during job interviews, worried that such information could influence hiring decisions.
The findings come from the second edition of Naukri’s annual Voices @ Work International Women’s Day report, titled “What Women Professionals Want.” Drawing insights from more than 50,000 women across over 50 industries, the survey sheds light on evolving workplace aspirations alongside the biases that continue to hold women back.
One of the report’s most striking insights is the growing demand for equal pay audits. The share of women calling for regular pay parity checks has climbed to 27 per cent this year, up from 19 per cent a year ago. The demand now stands alongside menstrual leave as the most sought after workplace policy.
Interestingly, the call for pay transparency grows louder higher up the income ladder. Nearly half of women earning between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore annually say equal pay audits are a priority, suggesting that pay gaps become more visible as women move up the career ladder.
At the same time, confidence and ambition appear to be rising. About 83 per cent of women say they feel encouraged to pursue leadership roles, a significant jump from 66 per cent last year. Cities in southern India appear particularly supportive, with Hyderabad leading the way as 86 per cent of respondents there reported encouragement to step into leadership positions. The education sector recorded the highest sense of encouragement at 87 per cent.
Yet the report also highlights a growing trust deficit around pay equity. Nearly one in three women, or 33 per cent, say they do not believe men and women are paid equally at their workplace. That figure has risen from 25 per cent last year, pointing to widening perceptions of disparity as careers progress.
Bias in hiring and promotions continues to be the biggest hurdle. About 42 per cent of respondents say workplace bias is the main challenge for women from diverse backgrounds. The concern is consistent across major metros, with Chennai and Delhi NCR reporting similar levels.
Reluctance to discuss personal milestones during hiring processes is also widespread. While 34 per cent overall said they hesitate to share marriage or maternity plans in interviews, the anxiety increases with experience. Among professionals with 10 to 15 years of work experience, the figure rises to 40 per cent.
Info Edge group CMO Sumeet Singh, said the data reflects both progress and unfinished work. “Behind every data point in this report is a woman who is ambitious. The fact that 83 per cent feel encouraged to lead is something to celebrate. However, the fact that one in two still hide their marriage or maternity plans in interviews tells us the work is far from done. As India’s leading career platform, it felt not just important but necessary for us to shine a light on these gaps through the second edition of our report,” he said.
The report suggests that while ambition among women professionals is growing, structural changes around pay transparency, fair hiring and supportive policies will be key if workplaces hope to keep pace.
