Huawei plans to lay off hundreds of employees in the US

A report from The Wall Street Journal states that Huawei plans to lay off workers in US. These layoffs are expected to hit Huawei’s US Research and Development subsidiary, Futurewei technologies.

Futurewei employs 850 people in research labs throughout the US, including Washington, California and Texas. Although the exact number of layoffs is unclear, a person familiar with the matter told the Journal that hundreds of people were expected to lose their jobs.

Recently the Trump administration declared a national emergency over threats to national security. The Commerce Department added Huawei to a blacklist, which barred US companies from doing business with Huawei, a Chinese multinational technology company that provides telecommunications equipment and sells consumer electronics, including Mobiles.

The CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei of Huwaei said that the company expects a $30 billion hit over the next couple years due to the US restrictions.

President Donald Trump, however, agreed to ease restrictions on Huawei and let US companies do business with Huwaei as long as national security is not jeopardized. This concession comes as part of a truce reached by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the recent G-20 summit, Japan, to restart trade talks and avoid further escalation.