Huawei lays off staff in US and slashes lobbying budget after years of suspicion from China hawks
The retrenchment comes amid a steady drip of bad news for the Chinese telecommunications company
China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, viewed with suspicion in the US Congress as a potential threat to national security, has laid off five employees at its Washington office and slashed lobbying expenditures, according to sources familiar with the matter and government filings.
Huawei, the world’s third largest smartphone maker, let go its vice-president of external affairs Bill Plummer and four other people in the Washington office, sources said. The New York Times was first to report the shake-up.
The company also slashed lobbying expenditures to US$60,000 in 2017 from US$348,500 in 2016, according to Huawei filings.
“Like every company, we continually evaluate our organisation and align our resources to support our business strategy and objectives,” a Huawei spokesman said. “Any changes to staffing size or structure are simply a reflection of standard business optimisation.”
The retrenchment comes amid a steady drip of bad news for the Chinese telecommunications company prompted by concerns by US national security experts and China hawks who are loathe to see equipment made by a Chinese firm installed in the US telecommunications network.