Huawei is on a hiring blitz in Munich, where it is after chip engineers; Istanbul, where it is going after software developers; as well as in Canada, Finland, Sweden and Russia, where it is on the lookout for AI researchers. (Source photos by Reuters)

Huawei enlists army of European talent for 'battle' with US

Chinese tech giant is ramping up global hiring and local chip investments

CHENG TING-FANG and LAULY LI, Nikkei staff writers

July 2, 2021 06:05 JST

TAIPEI -- For anyone who thought Huawei Technologies had buckled under the strain of a yearslong U.S. crackdown, it might come as a surprise that the Chinese tech group is looking to hire chip engineers in Munich, software developers in Istanbul and AI researchers in Canada, along with hundreds of Ph.D. candidates at home and abroad.

Far from beaten, the hiring push reveals a company that is determined to find a new path to growth after Washington's sanctions and political pressure left its once-thriving smartphone and telecom equipment businesses battered and bruised.