250,000 and counting: Handsets sector sheds jobs to remain afloat

NEW DELHI | MUMBAI: India’s handset sector has slashed over 250,000 jobs over the past two years as the rapid growth of ecommerce hurt brick-and-mortar stores and Chinese companies virtually wiped out their local rivals, industry associations said.The cut of about 15% of the workforce comprised mainly of in-store brand promoters who were put out of work after thousands of small phone-retailing shops shut down, according to industry executives and retailers.India had about 400,000 handset retailing outlets, including mom-and-pop and large format stores, each of which used to employ three to five in-shop brand representatives, they said. Besides, Indian and overseas handset companies have reduced retailing expenses to focus on profit. On the manufacturing side, companies including Micromax and Intex have laid off people.“More than 250,000 jobs have been lost over the past two years because many retail shops had closed, in-shop promoters have been laid off and even distribution chains had shut shop,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, president of the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). “Some 20,000-25,000 people on the manufacturing side have also been affected by the job cuts, but it is retail and distribution that have seen the maximum impact.”70442316 The All India Mobile Retailers Association of India (AIMRA) said ICEA’s estimates were “conservative” and that the number of shop assistants at mom-and-pop and large-format stores had actually reduced by half because more consumers were researching online before making purchases, leaving little room for retailers to influence their choices.“Because of the impact of online shopping and several brands shutting shop, layoffs in the handset industry have been on the higher side,” said AIMRA national president Arvinder Khurana.The landscape of India’s handset industry has changed dramatically over the past two years. Chinese companies now command about 75% of the market. Reliance Jio Infocomm’s ultra-low priced 4G feature phones have pushed local manufacturers Micromax and Lava to the fringes and Intex and Karbonn out of the market.Micromax and Intex did not respond to queries from ET on job losses.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2KbJdan