Huawei Israeli R&D center lays off over 12% of staff

Huawei’s Israeli R&D center, operating under the name Toga Networks, has laid off about 50 employees from its cloud division, representing over 12% of its Israeli workforce of around 400 employees.

The layoffs are part of a broader organizational restructuring aimed at improving efficiency and refocusing the business, with some employees expected to be integrated into other units.

The Hod Hasharon-based center, acquired by Huawei in 2016, remains a key research hub outside China, focusing on communications infrastructure, cloud solutions, and AI components.

Despite recent layoffs, Huawei continues to recruit for other divisions within the company.

The company previously closed its storage division in Israel in 2023, and the current restructuring reflects ongoing efforts to adapt to global operational challenges.

🔗 Source: Calcalist

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Huawei’s cloud overhaul came before an executive demotion tied to a data-falsification probe

Huawei is treating the Israel layoffs as part of a wider reshuffle in its cloud operations worldwide, with merged teams and more spending aimed at AI engines 1.
A Sina.com report cited by the SCMP said the changes aim to center the cloud business on artificial intelligence and reach profitability after 2024 losses 2.
In October 2025, Huawei’s internal disciplinary committee reportedly demoted Zhang Ping’an, executive director and CEO of Huawei Cloud Computing BU (business unit), and punished other cloud leaders after finding alleged “data falsification and economic misconduct,” according to DigiTimes 3.
DigiTimes cited industry observers who said some Huawei Cloud groups may have inflated results to narrow the distance with Alibaba Cloud, raising concerns about internal controls and governance 3.
Globes reported Huawei is shutting its cloud division in Israel and cutting 60 of more than 400 local roles, after ending storage operations in Israel in late 2023 1.

US restrictions are pushing Huawei to deepen its AI and cloud stack

The SCMP reported the restructuring comes as the US-sanctioned company expands AI hardware plus software services while dealing with Washington’s limits on China’s access to advanced chips, including Nvidia’s 2.
Huawei is building a more self-reliant AI ecosystem, with options for the Chinese market and possible overseas partners.
Work includes the CloudMatrix 384 system plus Compute Architecture for Neural Networks (CANN) toolkits, positioned against Nvidia’s NVL72 and CUDA, respectively 2.
At a partner event in Singapore, Huawei Cloud executive Charles Yang said Huawei’s products and services have “zero reliance on the US’s supply chain,” though he also said “a gap” remains versus Nvidia chipsets and argued Huawei can compete through “systematic innovation” 4.
The shift adds momentum to a split tech landscape, with Chinese companies building parallel platforms that could harden into two AI ecosystems.