Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain, which sold most of its African assets to India's Bharti Airtel, has lowered its workforce by 70 percent, its chief executive said in published remarks.

'The group's workforce has been lowered by 70 percent in light of the new strategy for the group in the next period,' Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al-Seyassah quoted CEO Nabeel bin Salama as saying on Sunday.

A company spokesman confirmed the report on Sunday but did not provide more details.

In June, Zain and Bharti closed a $9 billion deal for the Kuwaiti firm's African assets excluding Sudan and Morocco. 

Zain, the Gulf region's third-largest telecoms group by value, now operates in eight countries. - Reuters