Three months after announcing their merger with OnePlus, Oppo is now cutting their staff numbers as efforts to expand in markets such as India and Europe haven’t gone according to the company’s plan.
A case can be made that the company expanded into new markets and regions too quickly. According to Bloomberg, the Chinese company is cutting around 20% of its staff across several device and software teams to consolidate resources with the newly merged sub-brand OnePlus. The merger has lead to the creation of positions that are redundant hence the need to cut down on staff numbers.
However, the merger move hasn’t impacted Oppo’s overseas sales positions or their smartphone R&D team. But it has sadly affected the team behind the company’s custom user interface for Android – ColorOS.
According to people that are familiar with the matter, an Internet of Things division responsible for the development of wireless earbuds, smartwatches e.t.c has also seen its staff numbers cut.
Some of the factors that played a role in Oppo’s decision to cut staff numbers are the rapid expansion into certain markets and regions, focus on premium segment devices, competition from Xiaomi, and others. Also in the wearables segment, the company has failed to make a positive impact like Samsung, Xiaomi, and Apple despite releasing a few generations of their smartwatches.
Regardless, there is no denying that Oppo as a brand hired way too many people within a short span and needs to make a retreat. Only time will tell the kind of impact this move will have on their future products in both hardware and software departments.
