Microsoft asks some employees in China to move to other countries

Microsoft has asked at least 100 of its employees in China to consider moving to other countries, according to Chinese state media reports.

Microsoft has asked at least 100 of its employees in China to consider moving to other countries, according to Chinese state media reports. The reports come as relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorate over technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and clean energy. Microsoft employees, mostly involved with cloud computing, were recently offered the opportunity to work in the United States, Australia or Ireland, among other countries, state-run outlet The Paper said in a report Wednesday, citing an unnamed source. “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,” a Microsoft spokesperson told CNN on Thursday. It did not specify the number of workers who had received the offer. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Microsoft asked as many as 800 employees, mostly engineers with Chinese nationality working on cloud computing and AI, to consider relocating. The Journal, which cited unnamed sources, reported last year that the Biden administration was preparing to restrict Chinese firms’ access to US cloud services. The company entered China in 1992 and for decades has counted on its well-known Beijing-based research lab, Microsoft Research Lab Asia, to help it build influence.