Ren Zhengfei

Managers at Huawei who are graded as the worst-performing 10 percent will be fired every year, Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of the Chinese technology giant said recently, noting that it is only through this approach can "new blood" to the company circulate.

Ren said that positions in Huawei will be divided into three categories: specialized staff, experts and management. The specialized staff category, also labeled as professional posts, will have no age limit, according to Ren. 

Experts, the second category, must quickly adapt to social changes and will fall behind if they fail to keep up with the changing times, otherwise they will fall behind in knowledge.

The third category is the management team. Those graded in the bottom 10 percent each year will be made redundant, even if they are all actually excellent, Ren said.

Ren told new recruits that the company is in a new, especially difficult era in which hardship will create more heroes.

"When the US hit us with one document, we have to reprogram thousands of integrated circuit boards... then there comes a new hit, we have to adopt once again... but how many heroes are carved out of hardship this way!" Ren said. 

Ma Jihua, a veteran industry analyst who is well-versed with the culture of Huawei, told the Global Times on Sunday that it is not all coincidence that Huawei is restructuring its human resources amid the increasing US crackdown.

"The US attack is forcing the company to adopt a relevant strategy, and along with it, Huawei needs to optimize its human resources," Ma said. "But make no mistake: the company is not going to lay off employees as its financial situation is very secure".

Ma said that layoffs are common in the telecommunications sector, with its fast-changing development and cut-throat competition.

The next two years will be the most critical and also the most difficult time for Huawei to survive and explore development, Ren said, noting that the company will not only maintain its normal research and development program, but will also invest billions of dollars in new innovation projects.

Talent team has a close bearing to company survival or development, Ren said, noting that the firm will continue to absorb both domestic and foreign talent.

The number of new graduates to be recruited next year will expand to at least 8,000, he said, while noting that "those who come in must be outstanding."

In 2019, Huawei recruited nearly 8,000 fresh graduates, according to media reports.