OnePlus, Realme, Xiaomi Among Smartphone Brands Cutting Jobs Amid Slowing Sales

Several smartphone brands in India are reducing staff in marketing, offline sales and administrative functions as the industry faces rising input costs and slowing demand in entry-level smartphone categories.

Commercial and corporate roles across the industry have fallen by almost 15 percent in recent months, according to industry analysts, as companies slim down teams that were built up during previous periods of rapid market growth, Economics Times reported.

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Workforce Restructuring Trend:

The cuts are mainly hitting brands in low-margin, high-volume entry-level smartphone segments, where sales have been said to have dropped by 8 to 10 percent over the past year.

Randstad India said the restructuring is being driven by changing consumer preferences for premium smartphones and online sales channels.

Commenting on the trend, Yeshab Giri said large-scale marketing and local field activation teams are being significantly reshaped.

“As consumer preferences increasingly gravitate towards premium models and online platforms, large-scale marketing and localized field activation teams are undergoing significant reshaping,” Giri said.

Corporate and commercial headcounts across the smartphone sector have fallen by about 12 to 15 percent in the past two quarters, said Randstad India.

The impact has been largely limited to non-core functions such as traditional marketing, regional field operations, offline retail management and administrative support positions.

Industry observers say the smartphone market also is witnessing stronger brand consolidation prompting companies to aggressively cut sales, overhead and operational costs.

One industry analyst said OnePlus recently dissolved its offline expansion team, affecting about 60 employees, according to reports.

Staffing specialists also said realme had moved its state-level operational responsibilities to distributor agents, leading to the migration of more than 50 area business managers to distributor payroll structures.

Employees of the field force associated with Xiaomi and Transsion are also reportedly scouting for new prospects amid the larger restructuring environment.

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Lean Operations Strategy:

However, Transsion refuted the claims of workforce reduction and said that the company is strengthening on-ground teams and increasing marketing capabilities to enhance consumer engagement across India.

“We are seeing some of the smartphone brands planning to cut the number of frontline third-party contract workers and promoter network by 5 to 15 percent in weaker sales regions,” said TeamLease.

Commenting on the trend, Balasubramanian A said companies are less willing to tolerate underperforming retail locations in the face of slowing market conditions.

The layoffs are a calibrated business adjustment and not a systemic breakdown in India’s electronics ecosystem, industry executives said.

Executives say smartphone brands are reshaping their operations into leaner organizational models, with employees taking on broader and more flexible responsibilities.

The industry's continuing premiumisation trend continues to underpin overall growth in smartphone market value, despite the layoffs, as consumers continue to move into higher priced devices.