back to article What Huawei to go: Hundreds of Chinese tech giant's US workers to get pink slips – report

Huawei, the Chinese manufacturer targeted by a Trump administration trade ban, is expected to dismiss a substantial number of people in the US in the coming weeks. The number of individuals affected remains unclear but the layoffs, at the telecoms kit maker's US R&D subsidiary, Futurewei Technologies, could affect hundreds of …

  1. martinusher Silver badge

    A strategic decision....

    There's also a report that they're opening up a facility in Italy, generating about 1000 jobs.

    The US is a bit of an unreliable partner at the moment (and for the foreseeable future). The people laid off here should be able to get other jobs, there's a huge shortage of qualified technical workers. (....and, anyway, you could always relocate to Italy)

    1. Ian Michael Gumby
      FAIL

      Re: A strategic decision....

      The US is a bit of an unreliable partner at the moment (and for the foreseeable future).

      If you read the news... in the US... it appears that the UK Ambassador to the US was leaking classified information.

      Sorry, but while Trump is Trump, he's still POTUS and like him or not... doing harm to a partner country (read: Five Eyes) because you don't like POTUS is a cause for concern.

      Imagine if the US Ambassador to the UK leaked sensitive information because they disliked the PM.

      Just saying.

      There's more to the story...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: A strategic decision....

        I think some of his reports were leaked. I don't believe that he was accused of leaking the information.

      2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
        Thumb Down

        Re: A strategic decision....

        " it appears that the UK Ambassador to the US was leaking classified information."

        Interesting. Is that how it's being reported in the US? Or are you just making a statement based on some hazy, misremembered fake news?

        Has the US already forgotten Cablegate? In case you have forgotten, that was when a huge amount of US diplomatic reports were leaked showing US ambassadors and their staffs very candid opinions of their host countries, including close allies.

        In other words, what embassy staff are paid to do. Luckily for the US, most world leaders not only have thicker skins than your much beloved POTUS, but they also understand that this is how the world works and didn't throw their toys out of the pram.

        1. kain preacher

          Re: A strategic decision....

          "Interesting. Is that how it's being reported in the US? Or are you just making a statement based on some hazy, misremembered fake news?"

          No it's being reported that the UK ambassador to the US said some unflattering things about trump. It's being suggested that Boris Johnson had something to do with the leak because he did not like the ambassador. Whatever the reason it was leaked to get rid of the ambassador

      3. ChrisC Silver badge

        Re: A strategic decision....

        Imagine if the US intel community publicised confidential information we'd provided to them regarding a terrorist incident. Which, remembering the Manchester Arena incident, they actually did. Thanks for having our backs on that one guys, really appreciated that... Other nations (e.g. Israel) may have their own reasons for having similarly low opinions of the ability of Trump-era USA to keep their big mouths shut when it comes to not leaking genuinely sensitive information.

        In contrast, leaking the opinions (which really shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone not so entrenched in Team Trump that they're unable to understand what most of the rest of the world thinks of their golden comb-over boy) of our ambassador, whilst a tad embarrassing, is on a whole other (i.e. far lower) level of unreliability and damaging.

      4. FrogsAndChips Silver badge

        Re: A strategic decision....

        it appears that the UK Ambassador to the US was leaking classified information

        "Trump is a moron" is considered classified information now??

        1. kain preacher

          Re: A strategic decision....

          No you are just not to publicly say it.

      5. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: A strategic decision....

        "If you read the news... in the US... it appears that the UK Ambassador to the US was leaking classified information."

        Either the US news media read it wrong or you did. The ambassador's reports were confidential. What was leaked - by someone else - was his actual words. I doubt many would consider what he was reporting was a secret - we can work that out for ourselves from POTUS' own pronouncements.

        I'm sure all the other ambassadors have made similar reports - I'd love to know what the French said, for instance.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      and, anyway, you could always relocate to Italy

      Actually no, you can't, unless you hold an EU passport OR you can get the Italian government to make an exception due to family etc. Even if you accomplish that you'd have to deal with the rampant nepotism here (in Italy).

      Why do you yanks persist in thinking you can just *saunter into someone else's country at will? You might think you're exceptional but no one else does.

      *(Unless you bomb the shit out of them first of course but that hasn't worked out too well for you lately either has it?)

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "We've never received such a request and would refuse to comply if we did. Huawei is an independent company that works only to serve its customers."

    Ah ah, this one gets me everytime ! Yeah, for sure, in "democratic" china, you can give the middle finger to the authorities !

    ROFL.

    1. Joe W Silver badge

      Yeah, much like in the USA (Cisco?) or the UK...

    2. Ian Michael Gumby

      @AC

      So... I guess that the large protest in Hong Kong over extradition to mainland China was really just a massive parade to show support for their free and democratic policies too. ;-P

      I wonder how many of the commentards who bash the US would feel if they lived under the same laws and repressive politics that exist in China today.

      Expect this to be massive down votes... but hey! In China, if this was from the Party, those who down voted would be sent for 're-education'.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @AC

        I've lived in China, I still go China every year. Simply put, you don't know what you're talking about.

        Daily life in most of China does not feel repressive for most people. There is, if anything, less police presence than in the US. Joking about reeducation camps because you know your post will be downvoted is just playing the victim to preempt contradiction.

        The specific case of Xinjiang is worrying because after years of increased liberalization, it's a return of nationalist politics. That said, they took a leaf from Western governments there: specifically repressing Muslims does get into headlines, but hasn't brought much actual condemnation from West, particularly, not from the USA's Muslim-ban president.

      2. iron

        Re: @AC

        Speaking of repressive regimes, the USA fingerprint all air travellers whether they have commited a crime or not. Even those just passing through on their way elsewhere. That is not the actions of a free country.

        1. JohnFen

          Re: @AC

          "the USA fingerprint all air travellers whether they have commited a crime or not"

          I don't know about international flights, but this isn't true for domestic flights. I fly on a reasonably regular basis and have never once been fingerprinted.

          1. Ptol

            Re: @AC

            "the USA fingerprint all air travellers whether they have commited a crime or not"

            "I don't know about international flights, but this isn't true for domestic flights. I fly on a reasonably regular basis and have never once been fingerprinted."

            It is US immigration law, so it happens on arrival to the USA. However, the USA is unusual in that there is no concept of transit. Most countries you can fly into the country and remain air side -to catch a flight onto a third country without needing to cross the border. However, this is not possible in the USA. If you are on the Air NZ flight from london to Auckland, you need to get off the plane in LA, enter the USA (including finger printing, having a valid US visa (or visa waiver) and then leave the USA to get back onto the same plane to continue your flight.

            1. JohnFen

              Re: @AC

              Damn. That sounds like an excellent reason to avoid transit through the US, even if it makes your trip longer or costs more.

              1. teknopaul

                Re: @AC

                Its a reason not fly near its borders.

      3. alain williams Silver badge

        Re: @AC

        I wonder how many of the commentards who bash the US would feel if they lived under the same laws and repressive politics that exist in China today.

        China does not have a good reputation about human rights, etc. However please do not try to use that as a reason for accepting that the USA is behaving badly towards Huawei. The two are not flip sides of the same coin.

        * Companies in all countries are subject to national laws that compel them to obey their spooks and not admit it. How often this happens we can only guess at. Some times, like Cisco, we hear about it.

        * China does have a bad reputation for not respecting copyright, patents, etc. The USA only implemented/ratified the Berne Convention in 1989 - 100 years after it was first accepted.

        * The USA is engaging in a trade war with China, Huawei is targeted, partly, to try to preserve USA dominance in telecommunications. The reason that the USA loudly shouts 'national security' is that this is one of the few get outs from World Trade Organisation rules.

        As ever in wars: truth is the first casualty.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @AC

        I wonder how many of the commentards who bash the US would feel if they lived under the same laws and repressive politics that exist in China today.

        They’d feel the same as American Indians (native!?!!), -blacks-, non-whites, hispanos, LGBTQ’s, .......

  3. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Facepalm

    So, first a ban, now layoffs ?

    What a successful trade war you are having, Mr. President.

    The best trade war of all time, for sure.

    You have forced Americans to pay vastly more for stuff they can neither make nor be without, and now you are forcing some of them out of a job entirely.

    Way to go to improve your citizen's lifestyle !

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Reports that Chinese authorities have been requiring foreigners to install spyware on their Android phones suggest that Huawei's legal analysis may be, shall we say, naive."

    And that, IMO, suggests the exact opposite, that they could be right.

    If the Chinese government could so easily asks companies to do naughty stuff, why would border cops be tasked to install apps manually?

    It would be much easier to detect roaming phones connecting to that area's cells. and block them until they install the app. Same for public wifi, obviously (in China, pretty much all free public wifi connections requires registering with a local cell phone number).

  5. fredesmite
    Mushroom

    Trade wars are EASY

    to WIN

    Grand Wizard , Serial Adulterer Donnie the CON

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