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Huawei employs 800 people in the UK and plans to increase that to 1,500 over the next five years
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Telecoms giant Huawei bringing hundreds of jobs to Reading

By David Millward
October 12, 2012

Hundreds of jobs are to be created in Reading with the arrival of global telecoms giant Huawei.

The Chinese firm has announced it will be moving its UK headquarters from Basingstoke to Green Park in April.

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei moving to Reading

Huawei employs 800 people in the UK and plans to increase that to 1,500 over the next five years as part of a £1.3 billion investment and procurement programme in Britain.

Victor Zhang, chief executive of Huawei Technologies UK, said: “This move marks the beginning of an exciting new period of development for Huawei in the UK.

“Green Park is at the heart of Britain’s communications and technology industry, is well located for some of our major customers, has excellent transport links and is the right location for us as we continue our UK expansion.

“The new HQ offers the space to accommodate up to 1,000 people as our business here continues to grow in the coming years.”

Huawei came to the UK in 2001 with an office in London. In 2003 the company moved to two sites in Basingstoke, from where about 450 employees will be coming to work in Reading.

The company will move into a 140,000 sq ft building at South Oak Way, which landlords Oxford Properties took back from Cisco earlier this year after it had been vacant for years.

Chris Carter Keall, vice president of Oxford Properties, said: “We are delighted that Huawei will be joining our thriving business community at Green Park.

“Maximising the flexible, Grade A space recently returned to Oxford Properties has been a priority for us and we’ve worked closely with the Huawei team to understand their requirements and put together a package that fulfils their specific needs.”

Huawei is the world’s second largest telecoms equipment business after Ericsson and has its products and solutions deployed in more than 140 countries. Its customers include BT, Orange, Virgin Media and Sky.

The company has been hit with controversy in the United States where a congressional report warned Huawei could use their position as a major supplier of telecoms equipment to help the Chinese government expand its overseas spying operations.

The claims have been condemned as groundless by the Chinese authorities and the company has stressed it has always been a private company with 65,000 of its employees holding shares in the business.

Reading West MP Alok Sharma said: “I am very pleased that Huawei has chosen to base its headquarters in my constituency in Reading and I look forward to welcoming them to the area.

“Huawei is providing important investment to the UK and creating hundreds of new jobs for Reading and Green Park, demonstrating once again that Reading is an economic powerhouse in the South East.”

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Is there a good maternity hospital nearby for all the anchor babies which will appear?

Scelfings UK
12/01/2013 at 10:30

More identikit mega corporations with their identikit employees. These companies will come and go as it suits them, with no local ties or loyalties; the celtic tiger learned this the hard way.

N Tropy
14/10/2012 at 22:48

Its funny how the likes of Australia, Canada, USA have stopped Huawei from going into the hi tech market of tele-communications in their countries. Those countries reckon because of industrial espinoage it might bring with having the Chinese government as a silent partner in them.

cav007, Caversham
14/10/2012 at 00:57

Thanks for clearing that up, mate. None of us knew that the local authority boundaries are a dog's breakfast.

It's obviously good news for Cleethorpes.

ray northstander
13/10/2012 at 08:59

Why is this good news for Reading? I was given to believe that Green Park is divided between Wokingham and West Berks. When the eyesore wind turbine was put up it was a Wokingham planning decision, not Reading. Stand to be corrected if you know something I don't.

parlovero, reading
12/10/2012 at 17:20

Good to hear jobs have been created but beware of Chinese cash. I predict in a couple of years time we won't be able to critiscise them in print as their cash will corrupt until they are a democratic country.

Fondue
12/10/2012 at 14:26

Isn't this a re-hacked story from 2 days ago???

Great news on the jobs created, even if the company is, shall we say, a bit questionable.

The Racing Snake
12/10/2012 at 13:48

Thanks Abbey Nationalist, a very useful link. I was not aware that Australia has similar reservations too and have banned Huawei from involvement in their systems.

I would hate to think that Reading has become the hub for censorship, cyber attacks and the suppression of freedom of speech. I am not convinced on the past record of our government that they are in control of security and have all the right checks and balances in place.

Damocles, Reading
12/10/2012 at 11:11

Damocles, here's a link to the BBC story on the subject...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19895753

Abbey Nationalist
12/10/2012 at 10:51

More congestion not jobs! Why are they considered a security risk by America and Canada?

Damocles, Reading
12/10/2012 at 10:31

Fingers crossed will be able to go into another Telecoms job seeing as I am currently facing redunancy from the current one I am in!!

RB RB
12/10/2012 at 10:25

I knew someone big was moving into Green Park after seeing all sorts of surveyors measuring one of the big empty buildings on the park and also some of the land that hasn't been built on yet.

I think this is great for Reading which is already the European hub for some of the biggest names in IT and communications and will mean more jobs for the area.

Jacques De Molay, Christendom
12/10/2012 at 10:07

@IB Fudger

Yes, Reading is one of the few towns in the country where it really is fair to say that there's a job for everybody who wants one. There'll always be people in between jobs but there's no excuse for any healthy adult in Reading to be long-term unemployed.

Daniel in Reading
12/10/2012 at 09:52

If you have moral objections to working for Huawei then take a close look at the other tech firms around Reading, and you will find they all have issues.