Huawei Technologies has just taken the next step of withdrawing, affecting 2,000 jobs, by closing its enterprise business unit in Russia, to avoid secondary sanctions from the West.
The business newspaper Moscow Kommersant on December 19, citing an unnamed source, said that Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group division in Russia will be disbanded on January 1, 2023. This division sells data storage systems and telecommunications equipment to corporate customers.
The Chinese telecom giant made the move to avoid the risk of additional secondary sanctions, as the company has been subject to US trade sanctions in the past. Huawei’s latest withdrawal from Russia comes after the company was reported to have furloughed some local employees and suspended new contracts with operators in April 2022.
About 2,000 employees working for the business unit in Russia will be asked to move to Huawei’s offices in other CIS countries or be fired. However, Huawei will keep the unit’s current office in Moscow if it prepares “to return if the military operation in Ukraine ends”.
Moscow Kommersant said Huawei’s research and development centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Novosibirsk will not be affected by this decision and will continue to work on 5G, computer vision, and virtual reality projects among other technologies.
Under US export sanctions against Russia, technology goods manufactured abroad using American machines, software or blueprints are prohibited from being exported to the country. However, Huawei’s electronic products, including smartphones and tablets, are still available to Russian users, according to checks on Huawei’s Russian websites and other party e-commerce platforms. Tuesday.
It is known that Beijing opposes economic sanctions against Russia, which prompted Washington to warn China not to take advantage of any business opportunities created by sanctions, and help Russia to escape. avoid export controls or handle prohibited financial transactions.
Some Chinese companies are still caught up in the conflict while many Western companies have decided to close their operations in Russia. Huawei’s telecom competitors, including Ericsson and Nokia, have suspended business in the Russian market.