Huawei is reportedly planning to cut its smartphone component orders by about half in 2021. A report by Nikkei Asia cites a number of suppliers who have revealed that the company is planning to order components for about 70 to 80 million smartphones, a 60 percent decline from 189 million Huawei smartphones shipped last year.
Huawei has been in a tight spot after the US Department of Commerce placed it on its entity list. Tensions between China and the US saw a number of Chinese companies sanctioned. Huawei suffered a setback after the US and its allies, including the UK and Canada, chose to block it from their 5G networks.
The company has since made several efforts to survive the setbacks, including selling off its pocket-friendly smartphone brand, Honor, to a consortium of agents and dealers in 2020. The company is also reported to be in the early stages of brokering deals to sell its Huawei Mate and P Series as brands.
Read: Apple Reclaims Second Spot in Global Smartphone Sales as Samsung Maintains Lead
The Nikkei Asia also reports that Huawei’s components imports are limited to 4G smartphones, as the company lacks the relevant permissions from the US government to import 5G components.
The restrictions seem to have taken a toll on the company, with Huawei recently falling from second to third place in global smartphone sales, according to a report by Counterpoint and Canalys.
Huawei has not released an official statement on the matter, but the developments could mean the company could gradually shut down its smartphone business altogether.
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