Huawei plans more cuts to jobs, investment in Australia over sour relations

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Australian operation of Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] said it would continue to cut staff numbers and investment in the country amid strained relations between Beijing and Canberra.

In 2018, Australia banned Huawei from supplying equipment for a 5G mobile network citing national security risks, a move the company criticised as being politically motivated.

“In simple terms the 5G ban on Huawei has cost us 1,000 high-tech and high-wage jobs from the economy,” Jeremy Mitchell, Huawei’s chief corporate affairs officer for Australia, said in an emailed statement.

“We have gone from 1,200 staff to fewer than 200 and by next year it will be lower still.”