Telecommunications equipment manufacturer ECI Telecom, controlled by Shaul Shani, is believed to be about to make another round of layoffs, affecting about 300 employees in Israel. This represents about a quarter of the company's Israeli workforce.

In late 2012, ECI dismissed 150 employees, most of them R&D workers. ECI's sales revenue has been hit in recent years by a contraction in margins because of aggressive competition from Chinese vendors such as Huawei and ZTE, and by a fall in capital expenditure by telecommunications carriers around the world, particularly in Europe.

ECI stated in response, "As part of ECI's recovery program, the company is adjusting its expenses structure to the state of the global telecommunications market. The downsizing process arises from strategic changes and from the entry of the company into new fields. ECI is at the same time hiring workers in the development area."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 15, 2013