The recent Huawei ban was an eight week-long drama-fest that will most probably amount to nothing in the end, but the US might very well have awakened a sleeping giant in the process.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the Chinese tech giant is planning to lay off hundreds of workers in one of their US-based companies.
Insider information suggests that some workers have already been notified of their dismissals, with additional cuts to be announced “soon”.
The company in question is one Futurewei Technologies Inc., a research and development subsidiary that has 850 employees in several states including Texas, California and Washington.
Another insider said that Chinese employees were offered the option to relocate back to China and remain with the company. Call it a hunch, but we’re guessing that American workers weren’t afforded the same privilege.
Are these layoffs retaliation to the ban, or simply a reallocation of assets admits a changing market? Considering that Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said last month that the ban would cost the company $30 million in revenue, it could very well be both.
Header Image Credit: Huawei