News Microsoft offers to relocate nearly 10% of China-based staffers to the US or allied nations — AI and cloud engineering exodus from China begins

[Admin]

Microsoft offers over 700 AI and Cloud Computing engineers and other staffers in its China operation to move to the U.S., Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand.

Microsoft offers to relocate nearly 10% of China-based staffers to the US or allied nations — AI and cloud engineering exodus from China begins : Read more

 

[slightnitpick]

But even if a small number only accepts Microsoft’s proposal, this is a potential brain drain of China’s top talent, especially given their highly niche specialties. After all, many former Microsoft employees eventually became leaders in top Chinese tech firms, including Baidu and TikTok-owner ByteDance.

Eh. They can always move back to China after gaining experience in another country.

 

[peachpuff]

Eh. They can always move back to China after gaining experience in another country.

And take some ip with them...

 

[bit_user]

Not that I want to add to the paranoia in this thread, but I'm pretty sure there are documented cases of Chinese tech employees, based in the US, being pressured, bribed, or even extorted to leak IP when they travel home to visit their friends & family. If you've never traveled internationally, it's common for them to inquire about your occupation, when going through customs. This would be the perfect place for you to get flagged and taken aside for further questioning.

To the extent this really does happen, companies need to look for signs. However, the only way it can be truly solved is on a government-to-government level.

 

[eye4bear]

Besides, Microsoft has a bunch of empty work-stations from all the recently laid off staff there,

 

[STIPS]

Who's going to approve the move? Why the hell is MS utilizing a developer base in a Communist country - why don't they just run a fiber optic link direct to State Security Ministry Chen Yixin super computers, save having to pay all the Chinese agents? Thank Bill Gates (and all the other West's new age billionaires) for jeopardizing the West ----- "Communism's useful idiots"

 

[pug_s]

Not that I want to add to the paranoia in this thread, but I'm pretty sure there are documented cases of Chinese tech employees, based in the US, being pressured, bribed, or even extorted to leak IP when they travel home to visit their friends & family. If you've never traveled internationally, it's common for them to inquire about your occupation, when going through customs. This would be the perfect place for you to get flagged and taken aside for further questioning.

To the extent this really does happen, companies need to look for signs. However, the only way it can be truly solved is on a government-to-government level.

This is a whole bunch of BS. These Chinese employees are already working internally in Ai and cloud division having access to their IP and can easily 'steal' it so they don't have to be out of their country to do it. Second, even these Chinese employees leaves China to the west, these employees will be seen as a 'threat' to other employees in Microsoft and won't get the upward mobility compared to employees in the west. Besides, these Chinese employees will probably get an H1B visa like visa and will get paid much less compared to their western counterparts. One employee in Microsoft in China who got this notice is confused why this person got it. I wouldn't expect the majority of employees taking offers anyways.

 

[bit_user]

This is a whole bunch of BS. These Chinese employees are already working internally in Ai and cloud division having access to their IP and can easily 'steal' it so they don't have to be out of their country to do it.

My point was about coercion by the State. For a Chinese employee who's sitting in China, there's not the same interaction with the State as if you're going through customs.

Second, even these Chinese employees leaves China to the west, these employees will be seen as a 'threat' to other employees in Microsoft and won't get the upward mobility compared to employees in the west.

I never worked at Microsoft, but as long as someone has excellent spoken and written English, I doubt they will face undue impediments in their corporate advancement.

The language aspect is a big one. My advice to anyone intent on corporate advancement in a foreign country would be total cultural immersion. These days, you can live in another country but still consume all news & media in your native language, surround yourself with other ex-pats, and have very few points of contact with the culture of your host country.

I used to work with a guy who, as far as I could tell, only used English outside the workplace when he had to deal with school & healthcare for his kids. Another one of my former co-workers came to the US at about the same age (i.e. for grad school), but seemed almost more American than many people who've lived their whole lives here and I honestly don't think that was an act or driven by any sort of insecurity. He sincerely gravitated towards US culture as a kid and we shared many of the same interests and cultural reference points. I'm pretty sure his primary and secondary schooling was all in his native language (I mention this, because I believe some of the more elite schools in India use English as the primary language).

Besides, these Chinese employees will probably get an H1B visa like visa and will get paid much less compared to their western counterparts.

The H1B program forbids employers from paying recipients less, precisely as a disincentive to abuse the program for this purpose. Furthermore, they're required to publicly post details about the positions filled by these visa holders, so other employees can actually see there's no pay differential. In several cases, I've seen these postings where they made bigger salaries than I was receiving!