Microsoft Corp’s joint venture Shanghai Wicresoft Co (微創軟件) is to cease its operations in China from today, a move that would lead to about 2,000 employees being laid off, Chinese media outlet Caijing reported on Monday, citing sources.
The move is in line with Microsoft’s decision to stop outsourcing after-sales support in China to Wicresoft, Caijing said, raising questions about how the US technology firm would service China-based users of its Windows and Office products.
The report said the closure would lead to layoffs mainly in the 2,000-strong Microsoft outsourcing team in China.
Photo: Tingshu Wang, Reuters
Wicresoft did not respond to a request for comment.
Microsoft is pulling back from the Chinese market amid growing political and trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, and stiff competition from Chinese rivals such as Kingsoft Corp (金山軟件).
Information technology services provider Wicresoft was founded in 2002 as Microsoft’s first joint venture in China, and it also operates in the US, Europe and Japan with a global headcount of more than 10,000, Wicresoft’s Web site says.
Microsoft closed a Shanghai laboratory focused on developing Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technologies earlier this year, the <
A screen shot of an internal e-mail circulated on Chinese social media on Monday, indicating Microsoft was shutting down its operations in China.
A Microsoft spokesperson said that this was inaccurate, while Caijing said it referred to Wicresoft..
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
BREAKTHROUGH TECH: Powertech expects its fan-out PLP system to become mainstream, saying it can offer three-times greater production throughput Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) plans to more than double its capital expenditures next year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.31 billion) as demand for its new panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, primarily used in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has greatly exceeded what it can supply. A significant portion of the budget, about US$1 billion, would be earmarked for fan-out PLP technology, Powertech told investors yesterday. Its heavy investment in fan-out PLP technology over the past 10 years is expected to bear fruit in 2027 after the technology enters volume production, it said, adding that the tech would
YEAR-END BOOST: The holiday shopping season in the US and Europe, combined with rising demand for AI applications, is expected to drive exports to a new high, the NDC said Taiwan’s business climate monitor improved last month, transitioning from steady growth for the first time in five months, as robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and new iPhone shipments boosted exports and corporate sales, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. The council uses a five-color system to measure the nation’s economic state, with “green” indicating steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” reflecting a recession. “Yellow-red” and “yellow-blue” suggest a transition to a stronger or weaker condition. The total score of the monitor’s composite index rose to 35 points from a revised 31 in August, ending a four-month
RUN IT BACK: A succesful first project working with hyperscalers to design chips encouraged MediaTek to start a second project, aiming to hit stride in 2028 MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it is engaging a second hyperscaler to help design artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators used in data centers following a similar project expected to generate revenue streams soon. The first AI accelerator project is to bring in US$1 billion revenue next year and several billion US dollars more in 2027, MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told a virtual investor conference yesterday. The second AI accelerator project is expected to contribute to revenue beginning in 2028, Tsai said. MediaTek yesterday raised its revenue forecast for the global AI accelerator used
RSS