- Microsoft is investigating a deal to buy TikTok’s operations in countries including the US, as the Trump administration pressures China-based social media parent company ByteDance to sell.
- Some employees have expressed concerns about the potential deal in internal messages reviewed by Business Insider, including concerns that the purchase could jeopardize Microsoft’s integrity under these circumstances.
- “This is the first time in a long time that I have doubted the bullet in my stomach that we might not be doing the right thing,” said one employee in a comment reviewed by Business Insider.
- In one internal employee interview, entitled “Should Microsoft Buy TikTok?”, 63% of the 250 respondents at the time it was shared with Business Insider said “no.”
- Are you a Microsoft employee? Contact this reporter via Signal encrypted messaging app (+ 1-425-344-8242) or email ([email protected]).
- Visit the Business Insider website for more stories.
Bill Gates called Microsoft’s potential acquisition of the social video app TikTok a “poisonous cup” – and it turned out that at least some tech titan employees he cofounded agreed with him.
The company is investigating a deal to buy TikTok’s operations in countries including the US, as the Trump administration puts pressure on China’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell.
Employees shared their concerns about the potential deal on the company’s internal Yammer social network – specifically in a group called “CEO Connection”, which Microsoft describes as intended “to ask employees Satya and its management team questions and topics to discuss. are relevant to the whole business. ”
In one internal survey, published on the Yammer corporate social network and titled “Should Microsoft Buy TikTok?”, 63% of the 250 respondents at the time it was shared with Business Insider said “no”, 19% said ” not sure, “and 18% said” yes. ” That interview represents only a small portion of Microsoft’s more than 150,000 employees, but speaks to the mood within the company amid the uncertainty of the situation.
“Especially since Satya became CEO, I have felt nothing but pride in being a part of this company,” said one employee in a Yammer comment reviewed by Business Insider, referring to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “This is the first time in a long time that I doubt the ball of my stomach that I might not be doing the right thing.”
The employee referred to recent remarks by President Donald Trump that any deal between Microsoft and TikTok should also include a payment to the U.S. Treasury. This employee called the idea a ‘bribe’ and said that even the appearance that Microsoft was willing to make such a deal could call customers and employees into the integrity of the company.
Other employees expressed similar feelings. “This deal is unethical from almost any perspective,” one employee wrote, adding, “That Microsoft itself would consider stepping into this situation is unthinkable.”
“Even if it turns out we had it for this, and the POTUS was just that [talking] about benefits of tax revenue not an explicit fee, the fact that the U.S. government is forcing the sale still seems bad to us. We should run away, “said another.
Experts told Business Insider the part of the company that Microsoft wants to buy could be worth between $ 25 billion and $ 40 billion – which could be more than Microsoft’s biggest takeover ever, when it paid $ 26.2 billion to LinkedIn in 2016 to get.
Are you a Microsoft employee with insight to share? Contact reporter Ashley Stewart via encrypted messaging app Signal (+ 1-425-344-8242) or email ([email protected]).
