The founder and CEO of Chinese tech company LeEco, which makes everything from smartphones to smart TVs, has stepped down from his position as chief executive.
Why would you know Jia Yueting? Because way back in 2015, he was the CEO forced to issue a groveling apology after LeEco issued an ad depicting Apple as Hitler — complete with a red armband showing the Apple logo instead of a swastika.
Text on the advert read described Apple as a “dusk empire,” suggesting that was on the wane as a company.
Today, Apple’s become the first company in history to be valued at $800 billion, and could well break the trillion dollar mark in the not-too-distant future.
LeEco, on the other hand, is struggling. Attempts to crack the U.S. market have run into problems, and it’s now reportedly trying to sell its Silicon Valley property to raise money. It may also cut around one-third of its U.S. jobs. In addition, it has suffered cash flow issues, and is undergoing major restructuring after receiving a much-needed $2.2 billion investment from property developer Sunac China Holdings.
As part of the shakeup, Liang Jun, a former Lenovo executive, will take over from Yueting as new CEO. Chief financial officer Yang Lijie is also resigning “for personal reasons.”
Back in 2015, Jia Yueting told Cult of Mac that: “I am deeply sorry for publishing the animation ad on Weibo [likening Apple to the Nazis.] In hindsight, it was a misstep and I have removed it. It was insensitive and wrong to try to use such an image in a lighthearted way … My intention was to express our vision that open-ended technology ecosystems are more beneficial to consumers and encourage true innovation. Please accept my sincere apologies, and thank you for your attention and understanding.”
Source: TechCrunch
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
5 responses to “CEO who once likened Apple to Hitler steps down”
In many ways his cartoon was right and no doubt, as we see in the parallel political field, unseen forces are doubtlessly acting behind the scenes to thwart LeEco.
As a side note, it was interesting to see that a homeless man in Manchester has more compassion and love than the government, who are indirectly or directly responsible for the deaths of at least 22 citizens and wounding of 59 more at the Ariana Grande concert last night.
You might want to adjust your tin foil hat a bit.
Erm. (enter your own stereotypical reply to this stereotypical response here). Ah, got it, a no-brainer LOL
No, the cartoon was not right and has no basis in reality. Even more bizarre is your attempt to link the horrible incident in Manchester to any of this. You have issues.
Issues? Are you some sort of pseudo-psychiatrist? I very much doubt you know who or what you are, in actual fact. What are you doing here? What is your purpose in life?