- Chinese phone giant Huawei has reportedly demoted two employees for tweeting from an iPhone.
- Huawei's official account tweeted "Happy #2019," but the tweet was marked "via Twitter for iPhone."
- According to an internal memo seen by Reuters and Bloomberg, Huawei blamed a supplier it hired to handle its social media operations abroad.
- But the memo adds that two staffers, including the head of digital marketing, were demoted and had their pay cut.
Two Huawei employees have been demoted after an embarrassing official tweet was sent from an iPhone.
The tweet, sent from Huawei's official Twitter account, was a New Year's greeting, reading: "Happy #2019." The tweet was marked "via Twitter for iPhone."
Transform talent with learning that worksCapability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More The message has since been deleted, but not before Twitter users and bloggers spotted and screenshotted it.
Read more: The Huawei arrest puts a 'bullseye' on Apple's back at a potentially dangerous time for iPhone sales in China
An internal memo seen by Reuters and Bloomberg, Huawei blamed the blunder on an outside company it employs to manage its social media overseas.
The supplier, Sapient, experienced "VPN problems" with a desktop computer so used an iPhone with a roaming SIM card to send the message, the memo said. Sapient did not respond to Reuters requests for comments.
But the memo also revealed that Huawei has demoted and cut the pay by 5,000 yuan ($728.27) of two employees held responsible. This included the head of Huawei's digital marketing team, whose pay will also be frozen for 12 months according to Reuters.
Reuters also reported that Chen Lifang, corporate senior vice-president and director of the board, said the snafu "caused damage to the Huawei brand."
Huawei declined to comment when contacted by Reuters and Bloomberg. Business Insider has contacted the company for comment.
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