New Delhi, March 3 (IANS): After laying off a substantial number of employees -- as many as 85 per cent staff across the sales, marketing and distribution departments in India, Chinese internet and technology conglomerate LeEco on Friday denied plans to exit the India operations as of now.

"India is one of the most strategic markets for LeEco and hence does not have any exit plan. In the past one year, LeEco India has gained market recognition and the initial stage of market seeding has been successful," the company said in a statement on Friday. 

Earlier in the day, a senior inside source confirmed to IANS that the company has fired 85 per cent of its India staff. 

The source also confirmed that both Atul Jain, Chief Operating Officer, Smart Electronics Business, and Debashish Ghosh, Chief Operating Officer for Internet Applications, Services and Content, were "asked to leave" and had not quit as reported.

According to the company statement, the resource head count in India, however, is well aligned to the scale of operations envisioned and in line with industry benchmarks. 

"In fact, the company is gearing up for the launch of its next-generation TV scheduled the coming week. Premium models of smartphones too are to follow. LeEco television and smartphone business continues in India and has gained significant market recognition. All this certainly does not signal a company in wind-up mode," the statement read.