This archive report was first published on 15 July 2019.
July 15, 2019
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is facing a major crisis in the United States, with plans to make significant job cuts at its US operations.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Huawei's US-based research and development arm, Futurewei Technologies, is expected to lay off hundreds of employees, out of the current 850 people working at several labs in the United States.
Some of the company's Chinese employees were given the option of keeping their jobs and returning home to work.
The layoffs are a result of US sanctions imposed on Huawei over concerns about its ties to the government in Beijing.
Washington has accused Huawei of working directly with the Chinese government, a claim the company denies.
Despite the sanctions, Huawei has managed to win a bit of a reprieve when US President Donald Trump said he would ease the punitive measures so long as the equipment sold to the Chinese company did not pose any risk to national security.
However, the company's US operations are still facing significant challenges, and the planned job cuts are a testament to the difficulties it is facing in the country.
