Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies is paying its employees $286 million U.S. in cash bonuses to reward them for helping the company endure the ongoing U.S. trade war.
The world’s largest telecoms equipment provider said it has been trying to find alternatives to U.S. hardware after the United States all but banned it from doing business with American firms, disrupting its ability to source key parts.
The bonuses recognize the work employees have done in the face of ongoing U.S. pressure, the company said in a memo to staff. The company will also double pay this month for almost all of its 190,000 workers. The cash rewards will likely go to research and development teams and those working to shift the company’s supply chains away from the United States, the company added.
Many officials in the U.S. government believe that Huawei’s equipment, particularly its 5G networks, pose a security risk because of the company’s allegedly close ties to the Chinese government. Huawei has denied that the Chinese government plays any role in its operations.
Huawei is also the world’s second-largest maker of smartphones and a surge in shipments of its devices helped the company to report a 27% rise in third-quarter revenue in October.
