We’ll be curating stories from management guru John Bittleston and making them free to read.Huawei has initiated a number of high-profile legal actions to defend its business and reputation overseas. In March, the company brought the US government to court in Texas, arguing a provision in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that barred it from certain networks violated the US Constitution.
Even as Huawei fights to safeguard its reputation abroad, it may be facing a public backlash back home. This week, news that it had reported an employee to police who was subsequently detained for 251 days - then released without charges - sparked a social media furore against the company's infamously demanding work environment. Local media reported the long-time employee had sought severance pay upon dismissal over unspecified reasons, but was then detained on extortion charges.
The backlash stood in stark contrast to the consistent support Huawei has enjoyed at home since it ended up in Washington's cross-hairs. Huawei is considered a central facet of sensitive US-China negotiations intended to defuse trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. The Trump administration however has said issues related to the company won't be included in any potential deal and are separate matters.
The FCC's move comprises one aspect of a broader campaign to contain a Chinese national champion Washington views with suspicion. In May, the White House placed Huawei on a blacklist that prohibited the sale of American software and circuitry. It has so far defied those curbs - reporting hyper-growth in quarterly sales and smartphone shipments - but expects Washington's ban to erase US$10 billion in 2019 revenue.
The US market itself has shrunk in importance in past years for Huawei. The country's biggest telecom carriers, including AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc, barely buy any of its gear and dropped plans to sell Huawei phones last year under pressure from the US government. Huawei still maintains business ties with a number of small American carriers serving rural areas. BLOOMBERG