Xiaomi has just made a major new announcement during the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earlier today (30th December 2022). The company has officially promoted Lu Weibing as the new President of its international business department of the group.

the Chinese tech giant had previously already announced that Wang Xiang, the former President, will be retiring on December 30, with Lu Weibing set to take over. In the announcement, the brand also stated that Lu Weibing has been promoted to President of the international business department of the group and will even be managing the smartphone department, ecological chain department, major appliance department, China region, and India region of the group.

Furthermore, Wang Xiaoyan was promoted to Vice President of the group and will also serve as president of the group in China. Qu Heng is promoted as the Vice President of the group and will also work as the chairman of the group technical committee as well. Lastly, Ma Ji was also promoted to the role of Vice President of the Xiaomi Group and will even serve as the general manager of the Internet business department of the group.

Interestingly enough, this news arrives soon after rumors of Xiaomi laying off thousands of employees. For those unaware, there was a panic in the company as it was reported that there were multiple rounds of layoffs that affected multiple departments. As per the report, there were up to 75 percent layoffs in certain departments as well, while some teams also saw a 40 percent downsizing.

RELATED:

• Xiaomi Pad 6 Series to Launch in Q2 2023, Report
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra to feature an impressive new Periscope Zoom Camera: Tipster
• Xiaomi Mijia Smart Fish Tank is Now Available for Crowdfunding
• Xiaomi ends software support for Redmi 8, Redmi 8A, Redmi K30 5G, & POCO X2

(Via)

The post Lu Weibing officially promoted as Xiaomi Group President appeared first on Gizmochina.

The economic impact of the global chip shortage that has persisted for several months since 2020 could soon be felt directly by phone users as phone makers continue to grapple with the challenge of increased smartphone production costs. The chip shortage mainly affected the automotive industry at the early stages. It led to the shutdown of some production plants in the US and other places.

A few months back, some governments took steps to stimulate production, but it is clear that these moves are yet to yield the desired results as chipmakers continue to grapple with increasing demands. Now it seems that phone makers are now gradually feeling the impact of the shortage as production costs continue to climb.

Xiaomi’s president Wang Xiang said that his company has been grappling with increased production costs due to the shortage of semiconductors needed for smartphones. There was every likelihood that the increased production cost would lead to higher prices of several of its forthcoming smartphones. Xiang made the comments during Xiaomi’s fourth-quarter 2020 earnings call (via) and also stressed that Xiaomi would continue to offer competitive prices as it seeks ways of optimizing its production processes.

Some chipmakers have announced plans for expansion in capacity but the impact on global chip supply may not become apparent until after two years due to the intricate and complex processes involved in chip production. But generally, chipmakers have been struggling to meet supply backlogs from a variety of customers across the spectrum. Some industry watchers have predicted that the present global shortage may persist until the end of the year, with the attendant inflationary impact on consumers.

RELATED;

• Xiaomi Mi 10s Full Review: The underrated Gaming phone
• Chip shortage reportedly affects Xiaomi Mi 11’s supply in China
• Xiaomi officially announces the Mi Notebook Pro launch for March 29

The post Xiaomi’s President says the current chip shortage may lead to a hike in prices of smartphones appeared first on Gizmochina.