Microsoft is asking hundreds of its Chinese employees, working in its cloud and machine learning departments, to consider moving outside China. The news comes as trade tensions continue to rise between the U.S. and China.
The United States has been trying for a long time to limit China's access to key hardware and software technologies such as advanced semiconductors and AI. The Biden administration has put various trade curbs that restrict many companies in the U.S. and elsewhere to deal with Chinese companies, as it doesn't want China to have an upper hand in technology that could potentially be used against U.S. interests.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House might be considering new rules requiring U.S. companies to get licenses before giving customers their products in China. This could mean that Microsoft and other companies, including Amazon and Google, will have to undergo significant changes in how they operate in China for their advanced divisions, especially in the cloud and artificial intelligence divisions.
Around 700-800 people, most of whom are of Chinese nationality, are being asked by Microsoft to relocate out of China to other countries including the U.S., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. These employees primarily work in the machine learning and cloud computing departments.
Microsoft has around 7,000 employees working at its Asia-Pacific research and development centers, out of which the majority are based in China. A Microsoft spokesperson said to the WSJ that the company remains committed to the region and that it will continue to operate in China.
They further clarified that providing internal opportunities is part of Microsoft's global business and the internal transfer opportunity is optional, and only shared with a subset of its employees.
Microsoft has been working hard to expand its cloud computing operations across the globe. The company has recently announced the expansion of its data centers in Asia to cater to the increasing global demand.
Via: The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
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