• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
TechEngage

TechEngage

Technology news and opinions

  • Tech News
  • Reviews
  • How-to
  • Science
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Space
  • Apps
  • More
    • Opinion
    • Noteworthy
    • Roundups
    • Culture
    • Blockchain
      • Cryptocurrency
    • Events
    • Deals
    • Startups
      • Startup Submissions
  • Videos
  • Login
Internet

A Chinese firm ”disincentivizes” employees who buy Apple products

Avatar for Amnah Fawad Amnah Fawad Updated: January 18, 2019

Huawei logo with a person using phone
Design by Muntaha / TechEngage

Looks like the Apple-Huawei feud’s domino effect has begun. Recently, the air between the two companies turned bad when Apple accused Huawei of not abiding by US sanctions on Iran. It was this accusation that later paved the way of the arrest of Huawei’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou. As expected, the arrest did not sit well with China, even though the CFO was bailed out quickly.

Huawei has been giving Apple a tough time since the beginning of this year, and things got real when Huawei’s smartphone sales outnumbered the iOS pioneer.

According to a report by Yahoo, more than 20 Chinese companies showed their support for Huawei to the extent that they were willing to subsidize employee purchases of Huawei products by 10-20%. According to Quartz, a Zhejiang based technology company explicitly told their staff that if they buy any product by Apple, the chances of them getting a bonus or even a promotion would be negatively affected. The company also incentivized its staff to buy Huawei products. It stated that the managerial staff would be reimbursed for up to 50% of the original purchase price and the rest of the employees 20% for a Huawei product.

One of the users, Zhang Jun, wrote on Weibo:

“It’s a staffer’s personal freedom to choose a phone brand, it’s personal and shouldn’t be restricted by the company. It’s certainly a good thing to support domestic products, it’s good for the country and the staffers that the company rewards them to support domestic brands like Huawei, but no law supports penalizing a person for using an iPhone.. and taking away promotion chances and subsidies. The penalized staff should report it to the labor department. It’s good to love your country, but using Huawei doesn’t equal patriotism.”

For the employees who already have an Apple product, the company proposed a 25% reimbursement on voluntarily giving up the devices in order to buy a replacement from Huawei. A hashtag that translates as ”employees buying iPhones will not be promoted” made it to the top 5 hashtags on Weibo earlier this week.

China’s outrageous nationalistic policies are no surprise to anyone paying attention. 

Brock Silvers, the managing director of a Shanghai-based advisory firm, Kaiyuan Capital, said:

“In its attempt to establish the next generation of tech ‘unicorns’ [start-ups worth more than US$1 billion], China has ironically injected nationalism into its development process,”

He further added:

“But America’s innovation advantage actually results from the freedom it offers, via its capital markets.”

The stringent policies of China have already suffocated a lot of healthy competition in the country. Google, the father of search engines, could not survive in the surveillance-stricken atmosphere of the country. Its project DragonFly, which was supposed to launch in China, will not see the daylight as the Google employees protested that it violated civil liberties. 

Feud aside, consumers should have the right to choose which brand to buy for their personal use. It will be interesting to see how this new policy affects Apple’s bottom line. 

This post was orginally published on: December 24, 2018 and was updated on: January 18, 2019.

Related Tags: Apple Huawei

Related Stories

  • YouTube CEO admits annual “Rewind” video was “cringey,” makes promises for 2019

    YouTube CEO admits annual “Rewind” video was “cringey,” makes promises for 2019

  • Millions of websites won’t work on over 30% of Android phones in 2021 — here’s why

    Millions of websites won’t work on over 30% of Android phones in 2021 — here’s why

  • Huawei founder defiant amidst U.S. accusations

    Huawei founder defiant amidst U.S. accusations

Avatar for Amnah Fawad

Amnah Fawad

Editor

Content writer by profession, but a scientist at heart who secretly believes the conspiracy theories about AI taking over the world. Tech-savvy, sucker of sci-fi thrillers who loves to travel.

Reader Interactions

Join The Discussion: Cancel reply

Please read our comment policy before submitting your comment. Your email address will not be used or publish anywhere. You will only receive comment notifications if you opt to subscribe below.

Primary Sidebar

Become a contributor

We are accepting contributor applications. All applications will be decided in 3 days after applying. To learn more click here.
TechEngage-Apple-News
TechEngage-Google-News

Recent Stories

  • Best car vacuum cleaners in 2021
  • Best rated top loading washing machines in 2021
  • 6 best car scratch removers on Amazon for 2021
  • Best iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro wallet cases for 2021
  • Best video game consoles to buy on Amazon in 2021
A photo of TV lounge

Projector vs. TV: What is worth purchasing?

An illustration of a car vacuum cleaner

Best car vacuum cleaners in 2021

PS4

PS4 BUG: How to Protect your Console

limit screen time

Best and Worst Time to Post on Social Media

Footer

About Us

  • Advertise
  • Send us a tip
  • Startup Submission Questionnaire
  • Community Guidelines
  • Corrections Policy & Practice
  • Contact us

Discover

  • About
  • Newsroom
  • Advertise
  • Brand Kit
  • Partners
  • Staff
  • Our Ethics
  • Publication Principles
  • Contact us

Legal Pages

  • Reviews Guarantee
  • Community Guidelines
  • Cookies Policy
  • Comments Policy
  • Our Ethics
  • Disclaimer
  • GDPR Compliance
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Download our apps

TechEngage-app-google-play-store

Copyright © 2021 · All Rights Reserved · TechEngage® is a Project of TechAbout LLC.
TechEngage® is a registered trademark in United Kingdom under Trademark Number UK00003417167 and is ISSN protected under the ISSN 2690-3776 and OCLC Number 1139335774.

Go to mobile version