Financially troubled LeEco cuts 70pc of its US workforce

Chinese internet conglomerate LeEco has laid off about 70 per cent of its US workforce in an effort to streamline operations, less than six months after the company made its grand entrance into the North American market.

The news comes just days after LeEco founder Jia Yueting resigned from his position as chief executive of LeEco’s Shenzhen-listed arm Leshi Internet Information & Technology, and two months after LeEco slashed its workforce in India from 350 to about 80 employees as it sought to become more cost-effective.

The layoffs involving 325 US staff on Wednesday were attributed to “the challenges with raising new capital”, LeEco said in a statement, although it emphasised that it would continue operating in the US market with a focus on Chinese-speaking households.

“We will continue to operate in the US with our existing product portfolio that puts content at the heart of the experience, and we believe that our products can compete,” LeEco said in a statement. “We are committed to the US and supporting our existing customers.”

LeEco started out in 2004 as a Netflix-like video streaming site in China but quickly expanded into hardware, manufacturing its own smart televisions, smartphones and smart bicycles, and even establishing an electric car unit.