- Wicresoft has stopped dealing with Microsoft-related work
- Previously it worked as an important JV for Microsoft in China
- Estimated 2,000 workers have lost their job as a result
Wicresoft, a Microsoft -Joint Venture that allows the company to sell products and services in China, reportedly stop projects and dismissed workers.
The decision was announced via e-mail to Wicresoft’s Shanghai-based workers who were told that work related to Microsoft “will be completed” due to “geopolitical shifts and changes in the global business environment.”
It is believed that around 2,000 workers will lose their jobs as a result of the changes in a major battle not only for workers but to Microsoft’s presence in the region.
Microsoft-related work consists of most of Wicresoft’s business, with reference to a worker affected by the change, where workers seen leave offices with their belongings.
Microsoft remains a major shareholder in the company and accounts for 22% of ownership.
A Shanghai-listed company and a state-owned venture capital company both own 23% each of Wicresoft. Joint Venture works in about 20 cities throughout China, including Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, but globally it employs about 10,000 workers.
Microsoft said rumors that the closed operations in China were inaccurate (via Pakinomist) However, the company recently closed its IoT and AI-Insider Laboratory in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park. In addition, the move reflects a broader tendency to decouple US-China technology, largely performed by the escalating merchant stresses and mutual tariffs.
The shell of operations raises questions about how Microsoft will service its Chinese customers in the future, with a pretty significant part of his footprint away.
Techradar Pro Have asked Microsoft for more information, but the company did not respond immediately.
Via South China Morning Posts
