Huawei Rewards Staff for Accelerating Revenue Despite a U.S. Ban

Huawei Rewards Staff for Accelerating Revenue Despite a U.S. Ban
Huawei

Huawei quickened revenue growth to roughly 30% in the first half after select teams secured critical supplies to keep production going, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

Two months into a Trump-administration ban that cut Huawei off from American suppliers, China’s largest technology company is starting to feel the pinch. Still, while revenue growth of 30% marks a slowdown from 39% in 2019’s first three months, it was up sharply from 2018, the people said, asking not to be identified. Executives told staff they were relieved it hadn’t been worse, one of the people said.

The question is how long Huawei can keep up that momentum as the curbs begin to weigh. Huawei is pulling out all the stops right now to boost sales, assigning as many as 10,000 developers across three shifts a day to work on alternatives to American software and circuitry. It has thus far managed to boost revenue by aggressively securing contracts for fifth-generation networking equipment, the people said.

Meanwhile, the company is boosting internal morale, granting awards to a number of employees for helping it avert an immediate crisis, they said. The recipients were mainly responsible for hoarding components ahead of the ban, identifying replacements for American parts or negotiating with suppliers to keep up the flow of materials, the people added. It wasn’t clear if they got actual financial remuneration.

Despite solid first-half results, Huawei remains on a war footing. Executives have told staff to brace for tougher times over the remainder of 2019, the people said. The impact of the U.S. ban also wasn’t fully reflected in its interim results, since the sanctions only took effect in May. Huawei is still unable to sell certain 5G products to lucrative markets such as Japan, New Zealand and Australia.