Huawei announces $303 million to speed hiring, add new jobs in Ontario [for whom]
Published on: March 8, 2016
Here be an idiot....
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Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, announced Tuesday it would spend $303 million in new investment to speed up hiring initiatives and add as many as 250 new research and development workers to its Ontario operations over the next two years.
The staffing boom will have a big impact on the company’s Ottawa operations, which houses its Canadian research and development labs and makes up more than half of its Canadian staff. Huawei currently employs 600 people here in Canada.
“Ontario has a vibrant innovation ecosystem that we’ve been proud to be part of for the past six years, so we’re incredibly excited about expanding our research and development facilities in the province,” said Ken Hu, chief executive officer of Huawei. “Our Canadian research team is helping to drive pioneering projects around the world, and this accelerated investment in the province of Ontario reflects our confidence.”
The new round of investment will be focused at furthering the development of the next generation of cellular networks, called 5G cellular technologies, which will eventually replace today’s high speed (LTE or 4G) cellular technologies.
Huawei set up shop in Kanata around 2010 after announcing the creation of a research lab on Terry Fox Drive. The lab was part of a $67-million investment by Huawei that was supported by a $6.5-million Strategic Jobs and Infrastructure Grant from Ontario.
While the company missed out on buying a division of Nortel to help speed its research and development plans in Ottawa, it’s been particularly successful in snapping up its former employees in the region and focusing those employees on creating cutting edge wireless technologies which it then sells around the world. As of 2012 the company became the world’s largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, leapfrogging Ericsson. It employs more than 170,000 people globally and posted revenues of $60.1 billion U.S. in 2015.
Tuesday’s announcement to expand its footprint in Ontario revises an earlier set of plans released by the company in 2014. The company had initially planned to hire 320 new employees by 2019. It has already filled around 130 of those positions. However, market pressure and the amount of telecom talent available in the province has pushed the company to speed up its timelines and add to its employee count in the province.
“We’ve accelerated our hiring. We are staffing up at a much faster rate than we had initially planned,” said Scott Bradley, vice-president of corporate and government affairs for Huawei.
Bradley said between 55 per cent and 65 per cent of Huawei’s Canadian employees will be in Ottawa.
The company’s announcement on Tuesday was supported by a $16 million investment by the Ontario government through the province’s 10-year, $2.5 billion Jobs and Prosperity Fund.
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