Microsoft has laid off a number of Kenyan employees.
Mainly based at the Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Nairobi, the said employees have taken to LinkedIn to share updates about their current work status.
Microsoft is yet to release any statement regarding the reported layoffs which have set social media aflame since word got around early this week.
At the start of the year, Microsoft announced that it was laying off less than 5% of its workforce (about 10,000 employees).
Recently (this month), it has been reported, that the company has axed its AI ethics and security teams.
As of mid-last year, Microsoft had over 220,000 employees globally.
Its ADC in Westlands, Nairobi, based at Dunhill Towers along Waiyaki Way, is one of two such centres on the continent, the other one being in Lagos, Nigeria.
Microsoft ADC Nairobi was officially opened last year by then-President Uhuru Kenyatta.
At the time, Microsoft said that the centre aimed to “serve as a premier centre of engineering for Microsoft, where world-class African talent can create solutions for local and global impact.”
“The ADC will be unlike any other existing investment on the continent. It will help us better listen to our customers, develop locally and scale for global impact. Beyond that, it’s an opportunity to engage further with partners, academia, governments and developers – driving impact in sectors important to the continent, such as FinTech, AgriTech and OffGrid energy,” Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s Executive Vice-President said at the time.
