Microsoft withdraws operations in Russa citing Ukraine invasion

Microsoft Corp. is the next US-based company to announce its withdrawal from Russia. The tech firm is canceling its business in the said country in response to the Vladimir Putin-led invasion of Ukraine.

Microsoft Corp's decision was revealed on Wednesday, June 8, and it comes almost three months since it suspended its services and product sales in Russia. According to Reuters, more than 400 workers will be affected by the company's move to end its business there.

The Redmond, Washington-headquartered firm is reducing its business in the country to a great extent, but no exact details were provided about this. With this decision, Microsoft effectively joined the growing list of major tech companies that have left or cut back on their businesses after Russia launched a series of attacks to invade Ukraine.

"As a result of the changes to the economic outlook and the impact on our business in Russia, we have made the decision to significantly scale down our operations in Russia," Microsoft stated through an email. "We will continue to fulfill our existing contractual obligations with Russian customers while the suspension of new sales remains in effect."

Before Microsoft, Apple Inc., Dell, and Nike were the latest firms to cut their operations in Russia. Tech giants, Google and Facebook, have also taken measures to keep the Russian state media under control and limit their opportunities for making money through ads on their platforms.

Bloomberg mentioned that Microsoft is working closely with hundreds of its employees that will be impacted by the suspension of business operations. The company said it will make sure that the employees "are treated with respect and have our full support during this difficult time."

Meanwhile, aside from Microsoft, IBM will also be laying off its workers in Russia as they make their move to minimize their footprints in the country due to its invasion of Ukraine. Microsoft's spokesperson further told Fox Business that it would scale down its operations because of the changes to its economic outlook and the effect on its business in the country.