After halting all sales to Russia, Microsoft is reducing its business operations in the country.
“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,” a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Microsoft isn’t exiting the market entirely. The software giant plans to continue fulfilling “existing contractual obligations” with Microsoft’s Russian customers while the sales suspension remains in effect. As a result, existing users of Microsoft enterprise products in the country such as Azure and Office software should still receive support.
Nevertheless, it remains unclear when Russia's attack on Ukraine will end or if the Western-imposed sanctions on the Kremlin will ever be lifted. So Microsoft likely decided it’s best to wind down its business, rather than keep it in limbo.
According to Bloomberg, the downsizing will affect more than 400 employees. Microsoft added: “We are working closely with impacted employees to ensure they have our full support during this difficult time.”
The news occurs right as IBM decided to pull out of Russia completely, citing the Kremlin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. "As the consequences of the war continue to mount and uncertainty about its long-term ramifications grows, we have now made the decision to carry out an orderly wind-down of IBM’s business in Russia,” IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishn wrote in memo.
In Microsoft’s case, the company decided to stop all sales to Russia in early March, about a week after the Kremlin invaded Ukraine. “Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered, and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked, and unlawful invasion by Russia,” Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote at the time.