Huawei To Sack 60% Employees In India; Cuts Target By 50%

Update: Huawei has responded to Gizbot noting that the reports of lay off are untrue. The Chinese company did not elaborate further on the matter. Huawei notes that it would continue to work closely with its customers in India, putting off comments about lay off of employees in the country.

Smartphone manufacturers, along with many other multi-national companies have been cutting down their revenue targets for 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has drastically affected revenue turnover, especially for smartphone- and tech-gadget makers. The list also includes Huawei, which will be cutting its India revenue target for 2020 by up to 50 percent.

What's more, the Chinese tech company will further be laying off more than half of its staff in India. According to the Economic Times, Huawei is currently targeting $350-$500 million in revenue for 2020. it's earlier revenue turnover aims was roughly $700-800 million.

As part of its budget cutdown, Huawei will also be cutting nearly 60-70 percent of its employees working in India. It's also reported that the company will exclude staff working in the field of research and development and the global service center. This means a large number of dedicated Huawei centers and other employees directly communicating with employees might be laid off.

Huawei Troubles Rise

Huawei has been facing multiple issues with many governments. The present trade-war with the US and various allegations against Huawei has further surged following the pandemic. Adding to this, many European countries including the UK have issued a ban against the use of Huawei technology for 5G networks.

In India, the situation is a bit more complex. Huawei is one of the popular smartphone brands in India and has a fair share of users along with other Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, and so on. However, the recent surge in anti-Chinese sentiment seems to be affecting Huawei.

Co-incidentally, Huawei's decision to cut down its revenue target comes right at the time when Indians are calling to boycott Chinese goods here. What's more, Indian authorities have advised two state-run telecom firms to use locally-made rather than Chinese telecom equipment to upgrade their mobile networks to 4G.

Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has a couple of smartphones lined up for launch. It remains uncertain if these devices will make it to the Indian market.