Struggling smartphone Company HTC has started closing offices around the world, it is not known whether the Australian office of the Taiwanese Company will stay open.Late on Friday night HTC announced they were closing their South Korea office. The Company claimed the move was “aimed at streamlining its operations and improving efficiency after several years of aggressive growth.”
In June, HTC closed its office in Brazil amid reports that its market share there was shirking due to increasing competition from rivals such as Samsung and Apple.
In Australia, where the Company has had aggressive growth, HTC staff on Friday refused to give out the switchboard number for their Melbourne office where both the General Manager of the Australian operation and the Marketing Manager of HTC Australia are located.
Listings for HTC offices in Australia are also missing from Telstra’s White Pages.
A person who answered the HTC switchboard in Sydney said that she was not allowed to give out any numbers for HTC offices in Australia or management. Senior executives of HTC Australia have not returned SmartHouse calls.
A spokeswoman for the company in Taiwan declined to disclose exactly how many employees were affected by the closure of their Korean office, saying only that it was a “small number.”
“This is a hard decision that has direct impact on people who have contributed to the growth HTC has experienced the past several years,” HTC executives said in a statement on Friday night.
The company said the move is necessary to drive innovation, ensure its ability to create strong products and forge solid consumer relationships.
HTC posted second-quarter revenue of $3.06 billion, down more than 50 percent year-on-year.
Speculation is mounting that distribution of HTC Smartphones may be handed over to Brightstar where current Country Manager Ben Hodgson once worked.
Both the Korean and Brazilian markets are significantly larger than Australia.
