Microsoft is asking employees based out of China to relocate to other countries

Microsoft has offered some of its employees based in China the option to relocate outside of the country amidst escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington over sensitive technology, including artificial intelligence.

As per a report by the Financial Times, a company spokesperson at Microsoft said that the tech company has provided an “optional internal transfer opportunity” to a select group of employees.

However, the spokesperson emphasised that Microsoft remains committed to operating in China and other markets where it has a presence.

This move comes as the US government tightens export controls on technology, particularly advanced semiconductors, citing national security concerns. There is also growing apprehension over the potential misuse of AI by foreign entities for harmful purposes.

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In response to these concerns, the Biden administration has proposed new rules that would mandate US cloud companies to disclose instances where foreign actors utilize their systems to train powerful AI models.

Reports indicate that Microsoft has extended global transfer offers to employees in its Azure cloud group, specifically those involved in machine learning and related AI fields.

Microsoft, along with competitors like Amazon and Google, is aggressively vying for market share in the rapidly evolving generative AI space. The company is expected to showcase its capabilities prominently at its upcoming annual developer conference.

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Despite broader layoffs in the technology sector, Microsoft and other tech giants are actively recruiting top AI talent. Earlier this year, Microsoft absorbed the majority of staff from AI startup Inflection.

In China, Microsoft has a significant research and development centre, where they focus on projects such as integrating AI into products like the Bing search engine. The company has approximately 9,000 employees in the country, primarily engineers working on global products from locations like Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has stated that China represents a relatively small portion of the company’s overall business, with the majority of revenue coming from multinational corporations operating in the country. He emphasised that Chinese engineers hired by Microsoft contribute to “an American” company’s intellectual property.

Reports emerged last year suggesting that Microsoft was considering relocating its top AI experts from its Beijing-based research institute to Vancouver amid heightened geopolitical tensions. However, Microsoft denied these claims, stating that no such plan was in place.

(With inputs from agencies)