Microsoft is urging some of its employees based in China to contemplate relocating outside the country amidst escalating tensions between the United States and China, the company announced on Thursday. The strained relations, particularly in the race for advanced technology, have prompted Washington to seek restrictions on Beijing’s access to sophisticated chips utilized in AI applications, citing potential military applications. This geopolitical tension has placed pressure on U.S. corporations with operations in China.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is encouraging approximately 700 to 800 employees engaged in machine learning and other cloud computing-related endeavors to consider relocation. A Microsoft spokesperson stated in an email that offering internal transfer opportunities is routine for managing their global business, without specifying the exact number of employees approached.
Despite these developments, Microsoft affirms its commitment to China and its intention to sustain operations both there and in other markets. The company, which established its presence in China in 1992, maintains a significant research and development center in the country.
The employees primarily targeted for relocation are engineers of Chinese nationality. They were reportedly presented with the option to transfer to locations in the United States, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand earlier in the week, as per sources familiar with the matter cited by WSJ.
This decision from Microsoft follows recent actions by the Biden administration, including tariff increases on various Chinese imports such as electric vehicle batteries, computer chips, and medical products. Additionally, there are reports that the U.S. Commerce Department is contemplating tighter regulations to limit the export of proprietary or closed-source AI models, which are characterized by their concealed software and training data.
