Microsoft Corp has denied claims circulating since Wednesday that its entire Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) team is being asked to relocate to the United States or Australia.
The company clarified on Thursday that it was a standard internal transfer for a select group of Chinese employees instead of a mandatory relocation.
“Providing internal opportunities is a regular part of managing our global business. As part of this process, we shared an optional internal transfer opportunity with a subset of employees,” Microsoft said in a statement to Shanghai Daily.
Earlier social media rumors suggested that the entire Azure AI team in China, including members from Shanghai, would relocate abroad. These reports also claimed that the corporation would help with spousal relocation and visa/green card applications.
Microsoft refuted these allegations but did not divulge the specific number of employees involved in the transfer plans.
The company, which is a major investor in OpenAI (the developer of ChatGPT), earlier announced the incorporation of AI elements into its Azure cloud service in China.
It reiterated its commitment to the Chinese market.
“We remain committed to the region and will continue to operate in this and other markets where we have a presence,” the statement said.