US statistical analysis software company SAS Institute has reportedly exited the Chinese mainland market and laid off 400 local employees, as reported by the South China Morning Post on Friday (October 31st). The news has been confirmed by the affected Chinese employees.
Headquartered in North Carolina, SAS entered the Chinese market for the first time in 1999 and established a research and development center and user support organization in Beijing in 2005.
This move signifies SAS ending its operations in China after over 20 years and becoming the latest Western tech company to leave China. SAS’s departure also indicates that the development of foreign professional software in China is entering a “contraction era.”
On Thursday (October 30th), rumors started circulating on social platforms like Xiaohongshu (Red) that SAS would completely withdraw from the Chinese market, and the China team would face a mass layoff. This news sent shockwaves through the tech industry.
A spokesperson for SAS told the South China Morning Post on Friday, “SAS is ceasing its direct business operations in China. This decision reflects a broader transformation in how we operate globally, aimed at optimizing our business layout and ensuring long-term sustainable development.”
The spokesperson mentioned that the company will continue its operations in mainland China through third-party partners.
Establishing its China headquarters in Beijing in 2006, SAS also set up branches in Shanghai and Guangzhou. SAS’s business in China covers business intelligence, analytics software and solutions, and professional consulting services in the intelligent field.
According to information from laid-off SAS employees in China, the company announced the layoff decision via email on Thursday, followed by a brief video conference. During the meeting, executives thanked the local employees for their contributions and explained the decision to exit China as part of “organizational optimization.”
An insider revealed that SAS cut approximately 400 positions in mainland China, requiring each employee to sign a resignation agreement before November 14th. The affected employees will receive a compensation package, including “N+1” severance pay (compensation equivalent to one additional month’s salary for each year worked), two months of additional salary, year-end bonuses, and salaries up to the end of this year.
With its generous employee benefits and corporate culture, SAS has been recognized as the “Best Employer” in mainland China for 17 consecutive years by the Top Employers Institute in the Netherlands.
Another impacted employee stated that SAS is expected to release a public statement next week.
SAS’s Simplified Chinese website is no longer accessible, and its recruitment page no longer lists any job vacancies in mainland China.
Prior to SAS announcing its exit from China, companies like Dell, IBM, and Micron had already started laying off employees in China.
In September, US computer giant Dell laid off employees from the EMC storage and client solutions group in Shanghai and Xiamen, Fujian Province.
US chip manufacturer Micron Technology also conducted a round of layoffs in China as part of its global exit from the NAND flash market.
US computing giant IBM closed down one of its major subsidiaries in China—IBM (China) Investment Co., Ltd., established 32 years ago. Previously, IBM had laid off over 1000 employees from IBM China Development Laboratory and China Systems Laboratory in several cities last year.