Microsoft Asking China-Based Staff To Consider Relocating To Other Countries

Microsoft is asking close to 800 of its employees that are based in China if they would consider relocating to another country. The request comes amidst Washington’s growing list of sanctions against the Asian economic powerhouse, especially in the technology sector.

According to a WSJ report, Microsoft asked the China-based employees if they would consider moving to countries that included the US, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand “Providing internal opportunities is a regular part of managing our global business. As part of this process, we shared an optional internal transfer opportunity with a subset of employees.” the tech giant said to Reuters. “Microsoft remains committed to China and will continue to operate there and other markets.”

Ever since the US placed China’s Huawei Technologies on its sanctions list, the Biden administration has grown that list to include not just Chinese, but also US-based companies, heavily restricting the latter from doing business with Chinese companies, primarily centred within the AI sector. NVIDIA is one of the many companies to feel the brunt of the ban; initially banned from selling its full-fat RTX 4090 to consumers in the country, it now faces difficulty trying to sell the watered-down RTX 4090D, a card it specifically made for the Chinese market to get around new AI requirements.

(Source: WSJ, Reuters)