ZTE to cut pay in India to save jobs

Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE may slash the salaries of its India employees by up to 25 percent because of the slowdown in telecom infrastructure spending. There will be no job cuts though.

An Economic Times report Friday said the move is to "optimize resources" during a time when mobile operators are slowing their spending on infrastructure gear.

ZTE India CEO Cui Liangjun said in the report: "Despite the tough times, we are retaining and trying our best to optimize all our resources in line with the laws of the land." ZTE has about 1,600 employees in India with 1,200 fulltime staff, it noted.

On a positive note, Cui added the company's sales in India continued to grow and will exceed 2011's US$610 million.

Economic Times noted mobile operators such as S-Tel, Loop Mobile and Sistema Shyam, which have had their 2G licenses cancelled, were among ZTE's major customers and the uncertain policy climate is also affecting future equipment investments.

The Indian government revoked all 2G licenses in February due to allegations of fraud in the allocation process, but it has repeatedly failed to meet the deadline to organize another round of auctions for the spectrum.