LogInIt's seen as a new step in the tech giant's ongoing withdrawal from China due to increased geopolitical tensions.
Shanghai Wicresoft Co., Ltd., Microsoft's first joint venture company in China, will lay off an estimated 2000 employees, citing "changes in the geopolitical and international business environment" as the main cause behind the decision.
On Monday, a screenshot of an internal email from the company hit the Chinese internet, bringing the news of "ceasing Microsoft project" starting April 8 to the public.
According to their official website, Wicresoft was founded in May 2002 and now has over 12,000 workers from 74 countries. Tang Jun, a former executive at Microsoft, serves as Chairman, while Microsoft is the third-largest shareholder, holding 22.32% of the company's shares. It is widely considered a "Microsoft outsourcing company" in China.
The email mentions that "the company will follow the footsteps of Microsoft's global layout" and expand its business in Europe and Asia, specifically in countries like Vietnam, Japan, and Hungary. It also prioritizes offering global work opportunities and choices for staff who used to work for Microsoft's business line.
The company's severance compensation plan is said to be "N+1," a typical pack in China where N presents the number of years the employee has worked for the company. It's said that employees were asked to sign the agreement and depart the company immediately.
Last month, it was reported that Microsoft shut down its IoT & AI Insider Lab in Shanghai, which serves as a sign of the company's ongoing withdrawal from China due to increased geopolitical tensions.
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