As part of a global migration plan for its AI and cloud computing research and development departments, the American tech giant Microsoft is currently asking employees at its Chinese subsidiary if they are willing to relocate to Ireland for work.
The news of Microsoft’s plan to “pack” some employees abroad has been circulating on mainland social media recently. The US media outlet “The Wall Street Journal” reported on May 16th, citing internal sources, that Microsoft is planning to transfer 800 of its Chinese engineers to work overseas, with destination options including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the European tech hub – Ireland.
Local Irish media outlet, “Business Post,” confirmed this news on the 18th, with a Microsoft spokesperson stating that the company regularly provides “internal opportunities” for employees and has offered “select employees the option of internal transfers.” However, Microsoft has declined to disclose how many employees will be moving to Ireland. Like other major US tech companies, Microsoft has established a subsidiary in Dublin, where the company’s official website indicates that there are over 3,500 employees. This number does not include employees under LinkedIn, which Microsoft acquired in 2016 for €23.2 billion.
Since establishing its first office in 1985, Microsoft’s business in Ireland has continued to expand, making it the company’s operational center for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
It is reported that the global migration plan mainly involves personnel from machine learning and cloud computing-related research teams.
As a leading cloud computing and artificial intelligence company in the United States, Microsoft’s decision to withdraw key engineers from China has garnered attention. “Business Post” pointed out that this move by Microsoft comes at a time when the US is tightening controls on the export of advanced AI chips to China. However, a Microsoft spokesperson stated that the company remains committed to its operations in the region.
Microsoft has already sent out related proposals to employees via email. According to mainland media outlet “Yicai,” a user with a relative working at Microsoft claimed that their relative received an email inquiring about their willingness to relocate to Ireland for work, and the company plans to move their entire AI-related team to the Ireland subsidiary.
“Business Post” noted that the Microsoft spokesperson did not address whether the company would provide accommodation for employees amidst the current housing crisis.
Due to housing shortages, a large influx of migrants, and inflation, rental prices in Ireland have been steadily rising in recent years. The latest report from the main rental website Daft shows that the average nationwide monthly rent in the first quarter of this year was €1,836, a 4.9% increase from the previous year. In the Dublin area where Microsoft’s subsidiary is located, while the rental growth rate has slowed, it still remains the highest in the country; the lowest rent in the city is in the western part of Dublin, with an average monthly rent of €1,754 for a 2-bedroom apartment.
However, the high rental prices may not significantly impact IT engineers. IT has been a popular high-income profession locally in recent years, with job recruitment sites listing annual salaries for some AI engineers exceeding €100,000, with an average annual salary surpassing €60,000, far exceeding the national median income of €44,000.