Chinese companies paying employees to buy Huawei after CFO arrest
More than 20 Chinese companies are offering their full support to Huawei Technologies following the arrest of its chief financial officer in Canada earlier this month, even going as far as offering subsidies to its employees who buy its smartphones.
According to a report, many Chinese businesses have told employees if they buy Huawei smartphones, they could receive subsidies ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent, with some even offering the full amount.
For example, Chinese electronics maker Shanghai Youluoke Electronic and Technology said it will fully subsidize up to two Huawei smartphones per employee, while Fuchun Technology, a communications service company, said it would give employees between 100 and 500 yuan ($14.5 to $72.5) to those who purchase Huawei’s smartphones.
Additionally, many companies took to social media to announce that they will also increase their purchases of other Huawei products, such as its business management system to show their support.
While some companies are boycotting Apple all together, Huawei’s main rival, Nikkei reported that machinery maker Shenzhen, near the telecom maker’s base, threatened to confiscate Apple devices from employees and even fire them if they did not comply. Other companies said they would issue fines or withhold bonuses to staffers who brought iPhones to work.
Earlier this month, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver by Canadian authorities at the request of the U.S. Meng is accused of misleading financial institutions regarding transactions in Iran that violate U.S. sanctions. The dispute between the U.S. and China has now spilled over to Europe, where some countries are also starting to avoid its network systems over data security concerns.
Like the U.S., many European governments are questioning whether Huawei’s infrastructure for mobile networks could expose them to snooping by the Chinese government.
Huawei has adamantly denied these allegations and a spokesperson would not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for additional comment on the report.