Microsoft has launched a new round of layoffs in China, affecting more than 200 employees in its Azure cloud computing research and development division.
Employees Confront Sudden Layoffs
According to the report, Microsoft notified affected employees and asked them to sign severance agreements by June 11. The employees’ final working day is scheduled for July 6.The severance package could include four months of base compensation, two months of incentive pay for signing before the deadline, and another month of transition support.
News of the layoffs spread quickly across Chinese social media.
In a video circulating on Chinese social media platform WeChat, a tech blogger known as “Yang Zai,” who previously worked as a Microsoft programmer and has built an audience focused on careers in the technology sector, described the atmosphere inside the company.
“Yesterday, we already felt something was wrong. Everyone was nervous,” he said while standing in front of a Microsoft logo. “Today, the meeting confirmed it—it was a major layoff. Everything happened very suddenly.”
The report states that Microsoft is offering affected employees the option of internal transfers, including international assignments. Employees may also choose to accept severance and leave the company.
The latest cuts have prompted some industry professionals to reconsider assumptions that foreign companies continue to offer long-term job security in China.
Han Bin, a software engineer at a technology company in Jiangsu Province, told The Epoch Times that many foreign tech companies have shifted key operations outside China because of concerns about intellectual property protection and the Chinese regime’s demands regarding access to technology.
“Over the years, foreign tech companies operating in China have been pressured to exchange technology for market access,” he said. “These companies invest hundreds of millions of dollars in developing their technology. Why would they simply hand it over? If they do, they risk creating competitors that could eventually replace them. Many would rather reduce their presence or leave.”
Questioning China’s Foreign Investment Environment
The layoffs come as the Chinese regime continues to emphasize efforts to attract foreign investment.The Chinese Ministry of Commerce reported on May 23 that 20,113 new foreign-invested enterprises were established between January and April, a year-over-year increase of 6.8 percent. However, actual foreign direct investment utilized during the same period fell by 10.3 percent from a year earlier to 287.69 billion yuan ($42.48 billion). The ministry said high-tech industries attracted 116.33 billion yuan ($17.18 billion) in investment, accounting for more than 40 percent of total utilized foreign investment.
One China-based scholar questioned whether the official figures fully reflect the challenges facing foreign investment in China. The scholar spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
The scholar said the Chinese regime’s repeated emphasis on stabilizing foreign investment suggests that the regime remains concerned about capital outflows and weakening investor confidence.
“Since the pandemic, many multinational companies have gradually reduced or relocated parts of their operations,” she said. “If foreign investment were truly strong, there would be less need for repeated campaigns aimed at retaining it.”
She argued that many Chinese people have developed a habit of interpreting official policy messaging in reverse.
“The more officials talk about stabilizing foreign investment, the more people suspect foreign capital is leaving,” the scholar said. “The more they emphasize opening up, the more people wonder whether investors actually want to enter. And the more they stress that the business environment is improving, the more questions arise about confidence in the policy and regulatory system.”
