Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei (pictured), warned employees that as additional countries look to impose bans on its gear, the company may need to trim jobs as it adjusts to lower expectations for 2019.

In an email viewed by Mobile World Live, the founder said the outlook in the next few years “will not be as optimistic as we imagined. We must prepare for hardships and make a correct estimate of the economic situation”.

Ren added that targets found to be unrealistic need to be adjusted and it will cut non-productive staff to reduce labour costs.

The lengthy email summarised a recent speech to Huawei senior management. In it, Ren noted that 5G won’t be as groundbreaking as 4G as it will be employed in specific use cases as opposed to 4G, which was rolled out nationwide in most initial deployments.

Defusing crisis
During widening concerns about the security of its equipment, with several countries blocking it from forthcoming 5G network construction projects, Ren last week stepped into the limelight to push the company’s strategy to be more open and transparent.

In a rare media interview he said a trade war with the US hasn’t significantly impacted its business, with revenue growth this year forecast at close to 20 per cent, but noted: “We might face difficulties and challenges.”

Meanwhile, Oxford University last week cut ties with the vendor and warned students not to give sensitive data to the company, South China Morning Post reported.