US sanctions against China have already forced local companies to focus on locally developed software, but Microsoft formally retained the ability to provide technical support for its solutions in China through its joint venture Wicresoft. It must cease operations and reduce its staff.
Image source: Microsoft
This became known thanks to the Chinese publication Caijing, which Reuters cites. The source obtained an email from Microsoft, which indicated the termination of Wicresoft’s activities in China as a company authorized to support Windows, Office and other Microsoft software solutions. Representatives of the latter noted in a conversation with Reuters that this information is not entirely true.
Wicresoft was founded in 2002, the first company created with the participation of the American giant in China. The company continues to operate in the US, Europe and Japan, and has more than 10,000 employees. About 2,000 people in China are expected to lose their jobs as a result of Wicresoft’s closure in the Middle Kingdom. This year, Microsoft already closed its research lab in Shanghai, which specialized in the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.