Microsoft is urging some of its employees in China to consider relocating internationally amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and China over technology advancements, the company confirmed on Thursday. The move comes as the U.S. government seeks to curb Beijing’s access to sophisticated artificial intelligence chips, citing potential military enhancements, which has heightened strains on American businesses in China.
The tech giant is specifically targeting between 700 and 800 staff members involved in machine learning and cloud computing for potential relocation, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. These employees are predominantly engineers of Chinese nationality.
“Offering internal transfer opportunities is part of our routine global business operations. We have presented an optional relocation option to a specific group of our workforce,” a Microsoft spokesperson stated via email, though the exact number of employees approached was not disclosed.
Despite these changes, Microsoft affirmed its commitment to maintaining operations in China and other global markets. The company, which has had a significant presence in China since 1992, also runs a major research and development facility there.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the employees were given choices earlier this week to move to locations such as the U.S., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, though these details have not been independently verified by Reuters.
This announcement aligns with recent actions by the Biden administration, which just days prior increased tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods including electric vehicle batteries, computer chips, and medical products. Additionally, the U.S. Commerce Department is reportedly considering further regulations to restrict exports of proprietary AI models, where both the software and its training data are kept confidential.
