HTC has been struggling for years, and now the smartphone maker is restructuring in a bid to lower its operating expenses. The Taiwanese manufacturer is announcing its plans to cut 15 percent of its staff worldwide as it continues to battle against poor sales of its smartphones. HTC employed 15,685 people as of March 31st, so the reductions will affect more than 2,000 roles. HTC's job cuts are designed to position the company to "diversify beyond smartphones," says HTC CEO Cher Wang. "We need a flexible and dynamic organization to ensure we can take advantage of all of the exciting opportunities in the connected lifestyle space."

While HTC's sales rose for the first time in three years back in January, the company's Q2 results revealed losses and a forecast for another poor third quarter as the company tries to expand into virtual reality. HTC lost its second chief designer earlier this year shortly after the company replaced former CEO Peter Chou with co-founder Cher Wang.

HTC says the job losses will reduce operating expenses by 35 percent, and the company has warned that cost reductions will extend into the first quarter of next year. It's a depressing outlook for a company that used to control 10 percent of the smartphone market.