Huawei’s supply chain is under attack with top US tech chipmakers freezing its orders to comply with the US Commerce Department’s decision to blacklist the Chinese telecoms giant, Bloomberg reports.
Major US chipmakers, including Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx, and Broadcom, have informed their employees to halt their supplies to Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment vendor and second-largest smartphone maker, said Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources.
Though Huawei claims it has a backup plan should they no longer be able to buy from US suppliers, the Shenzhen-based will definitely feel the pressure from its supply chain shakeup caused by the US government. More than one-third of Huawei’s core suppliers are from the United States.
Google, whose Android system runs on Huawei smartphones, confirmed it would not be able to continue to provide some of its services on new Huawei devices although existing Huawei users would not be affected.
“We assure you while we are complying with all US government requirements, services like Google Play and security from Google Play Protect will keep functioning on your existing Huawei device,” read the company’s statement on Android’s official Twitter account.
German chipmaker Infineon, which supplies microcontrollers and power management integrated circuits, has reportedly also suspended its shipment to the Chinese telecoms giant, according to Nikkei Asian Review.
Although Huawei has reportedly stockpiled between six months to one year of key components in preparation for the US crackdown, Infineon’s decision to halt shipment signals greater trouble ahead for Huawei – it shows that non-US suppliers are adopting an equally aggressive stance towards the Chinese firm.