Huawei has drastically reduced operations at its U.S. research arm, Futurewei Technologies. The company this week laid off more than 600 of Futurewei’s 850 employees, according to press reports (such as this one from Reuters). The move comes as a result of Huawei’s placement on the Entity List the Bureau of Industry and Security oversees for the U.S. Department of Commerce (see "Huawei faces U.S. technology access ban").
Placement on the list means that U.S. companies must get a special license to do business with Huawei. As Futurewei is a U.S. entity and operated out of locations in California, Massachusetts, Washington, and Texas (and possibly others), it was hindered from working with its parent.
Futurewei originally operated as Huawei’s U.S. presence, including the sale of technology (see, for example, “Hibernia Atlantic picks FutureWei's multi-reach DWDM platform” and “CTC deploys FutureWei DWDM platform, expands U.S. core network”). Eventually it evolved into a research operation, frequently working with universities. Futurewei employees also participated in standards bodies and industry associations.
The future of Futurewei likely depends on how long Huawei remains on the Entity List – and how much leeway the Department of Commerce shows in evaluating trade license applications. President Donald Trump signaled a willingness to allow U.S. companies to reopen sales of technology that could be readily found from other sources and that did not impair national security (see "President Trump says he’ll allow some U.S. technology sales to Huawei"). Leaders of 10 U.S. tech companies met with the Department of Commerce yesterday in an attempt to gain clarification on which technologies might make it through the Commerce Department’s filters. While news reports have confirmed that the tech leaders asked for rapid review of licenses, there are as yet no reports that a decision has been made on which technologies might receive a favorable review.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.