Ailing BYD prepares for layoffs in China

Sometimes building the dream involves a little un-building and renovation. Such is the case with China's BYD (an acronym for Build Your Dreams) that, two years ago, made Warren Buffet a billion dollars in profit and made its chairman Wang Chuanfu the richest man in China, but by the end of last year was freefalling into dismal sales, following that up this year with dismal revelations and an even more dismal IPO.

The company is letting go of 2,600 workers from its sales force, who apparently didn't have much to sell as sales dropped 23 percent in the first six months of this year. The transition is happening in stages, with 1,000 slated to go first and others being transferred to places like assembly plants. Still, BYD plans to beat last year's sales of 520,000 units by five to 10 percent. In case you were dying to buy a BYD, it will probably be a little while longer before it sets up that Los Angeles HQ. We think you'll survive...

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