Huawei, ZTE Distress Continue In India – Employee Base Shrinks By 90% In Last 2 Years

Huawei, ZTE Distress Continue In India – Employee Base Shrinks By 90% In Last 2 Years

November 1, 2022: Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei have not received the trusted source tag, and their European, US and Indian rivals have already received it. ZTE’s workforce has dwindled to around 150, while Huawei currently has around 200 employees.

The number of Huawei and ZTE Corp chiefs in India has fallen by nearly 90 percent in the past two years as the Chinese equipment maker failed to win new business, including 5G gear supplies, following greater government scrutiny and stricter purchasing norms.

“ZTE’s workforce has been reduced by around 150 employees while Huawei currently has around 200 employees,” an industry executive with knowledge of the matter told ET.

It is worth mentioning here that by the end of 2020, both the Chinese vendors had about 1,000 and 1,500 employees respectively. In 2021, the Center amended the Unified Access Service License to check telecom companies procuring gear from untrusted vendors.

Highlighting cyber security risks, it issued a directive requiring all telecom equipment supplies to undergo a strict inspection process – to be purchased from companies marked as ‘trusted sources’ and only use gear marked as ‘trusted manufacture’.

Currently, ZTE and Huawei have not received the trusted source tag, and their European, US and Indian competitors have already received it and are getting trusted products approval to supply network equipment on a case-to-case basis, the financial daily mentioned.

Additionally, the Income Tax department has zeroed in on both Chinese companies—Huawei and ZTE—amid allegations of massive tax evasion.

However, both the organizations have denied any wrongdoing. Huawei, in a statement to the daily, said the company’s “activities have been affected” over the past few years.

“Over the past two years, factors have impacted our operations and we have been optimizing our resources as per business requirements.

While we are facing many challenges and regulatory turbulence, we conduct our operations within the framework of all prescribed government policies, guidelines and regulations,” the daily quoted Huawei as saying.

Meanwhile, several countries, including India, Japan, South Korea and Australia, have not allowed Chinese telecom gear makers to compete for 5G contracts.

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