Microsoft Asks 700-800 Employees In China To Relocate Amid US-China Tensions

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New Delhi: American multinational corporation, Microsoft is encouraging around 700 to 800 employees working in its cloud computing and artificial intelligence divisions based in China to consider relocating outside the country, as reported by Wall Street Journal.

The move comes at a time of escalating tensions between the US and China. The Biden administration has been tightening regulations on several Chinese imports such as electric vehicle batteries, computer chips and medical products. ()

Most of the employees affected by this move are engineers holding Chinese nationality. They were recently given the option to relocate to countries such as the U.S., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, as reported by individuals familiar with the situation. ()

A Microsoft spokesperson informed the Journal that offering internal opportunities is a standard practice in their global operations. The company confirmed that it had presented an optional internal transfer opportunity to a specific group of employees.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the U.S. Commerce Department is considering a new regulatory push to restrict the export of proprietary or closed source AI models, whose software and the data it is trained on are kept under wraps. The spokesperson, however, told the newspaper that the company remains committed to the region and will continue to operate in China. (With Reuters Input)