China’s Huawei Tech retrenches in US after years of criticism

FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is seen during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

WASHINGTON: China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, viewed with suspicion in congress as a potential threat to US national security, has laid off five employees at its Washington office and slashed lobbying expenditures, according to sources familiar with the matter and government filings.

Huawei, the world's third largest smartphone maker, let go its vice-president of external affairs Bill Plummer and four other people in the Washington office, sources said. The New York Times was first to report the shake-up.