Workforces at units of India’s ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies have been slashed by about 90% over the past two years as the two Chinese telecom outfitters have failed to secure new business, as well as 5G equipment, increased regulatory oversight and tighter purchasing guidelines.
The company’s board is aware of the two companies mentioned. “ZTE’s workforce has shrunk to nearly 150 employees, while Huawei currently has nearly 200 employees.” At the peak of 2020, ZTE had nearly 1,000 employees and Huawei had 1,500 workers.
In the middle of tensions on the India-China border, New Delhi cited cyber security concerns, while last year’s directive called for a stricter vetting process for all telecom equipment—purchasing from entities labeled as “trusted sources” and deploying equipment labeled as “trusted product.”
“Operations within the rules”
Both ZTE and Huawei have not yet received the Trusted Sources label, while their European, American, and Indian competitors have already secured them and are receiving Trusted Product Approval to produce community kits for the case.-basis of the case.
Both Huawei and ZTE have also come under the scrutiny of the Income Tax Department over allegations of tax evasion. Both companies have denied wrongdoing. In a statement to ET, Huawei mentioned that the company’s operations have been affected for the past few years.
“In the past two years, factors have affected our operations, and we have optimized our resources according to business requirements. Although we have faced many challenges and regulatory confusion, we only conduct our operations within the framework of all the policies, guidelines, and regulations set by the government, “Huawei mentioned.
