(Yicai) Dec. 20 -- Chinese handset giant Xiaomi has sacked three employees from its automobile division for violating the company’s confidentiality agreement.

This and last month, the three staffers attended seminars organized by brokers and investment institutes without Xiaomi’s consent to get consulting fees, the Beijing-based firm said on Chinese microblogging site Weibo yesterday.

At the seminars, the three employees disseminated false information, severely misleading the market and disrupting the normal operation of Xiaomi Automobile, the company added.

Xiaomi will pursue legal responsibilities in accordance with the law against the three staffers for breaking the code of conduct and confidentiality obligations, as well as against the brokers and investment institutions that organized the above activities, the firm pointed out.

In yesterday’s Weibo post, Xiaomi also noted that it had completed an investigation into recent malicious false rumors and information leaks about its auto business.

The probe found that on Dec. 17, two media employees had leaked confidential video content about Xiaomi Auto without permission after having signed a confidentiality agreement, Xiaomi said, adding that the two journalists and their employers will be held accountable.

Xiaomi has many advantages in making cars, Chairman Lei Jun said in an interview with China Central Television on Dec. 17. Smart electric vehicles are a combination of the automobile and consumer electronics industries, he noted, adding that entering the auto sector is challenging for Xiaomi, but the difficulty is generally under control.

Xiaomi had 3,400 engineers working on its first EV, having spent over CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) during the development period, Lei said, noting that he has high expectations for the first model.

However, vehicles are indeed complex. Lei admitted to being a little worried that the model may not be popular or too popular that there would be long waiting lists at the same time.

Editor: Futura Costaglione