Microsoft's internal investigation shows that 60% of Microsoft employees are opposed to the acquisition of TikTok. Microsoft employees: feel that we are not doing the right thing

  [Global Times reporter Wang Panpan] "Microsoft internal discussions show that most employees are opposed to the TikTok transaction." According to a report on the 10th by the US "Business Insider" website, an internal Microsoft survey showed that 63% of employees opposed Microsoft's acquisition of TikTok. . Some employees believe that in the case of the US government coercing TikTok, Microsoft's seeking the transaction is "immoral" and will damage its reputation.

  The US government requires Bytedance to sell TikTok's US business before September 15. Microsoft is in talks with Bytedance. Microsoft founder Bill Gates referred to the transaction as "Golden Cup Poisonous Drink." The "Business Insider" website reported that Microsoft employees shared their views on Microsoft's acquisition of TikTok on the company's internal social networking site Yammer. In a survey called "Should Microsoft acquire TikTok?", a total of 250 people participated in the vote. 63% of them gave a negative answer, 19% of employees said "unsure", and 18% agreed. The commentary stated that the survey sample is only a small part of the 150,000 employees of Microsoft, but it highlights a certain atmosphere within the company for the transaction.

  According to the report, an employee wrote on the Yammer website, “Since Nadella became Microsoft’s CEO, I’m very proud of it. This is the first time in so long that I feel inner torment and feel that we are not doing the right thing. The employee also mentioned that U.S. President Trump requested the transaction to hand over a large sum of money to the U.S. Treasury Department, calling this idea a "bribery" and any involvement of Microsoft would make customers and employees question the company’s credibility. "From any point of view, this transaction is unethical." Another employee said: "Even if Microsoft has long considered acquiring TikTok-related businesses, the fact that the US government forced the transaction to damage the company's image, we should abandon the acquisition."

  According to the "Business Insider" website, the TikTok business that Microsoft seeks to acquire is worth 25 to 40 billion U.S. dollars. This will be the largest transaction in Microsoft's history, but it is still far below TikTok's $50 billion valuation. According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, a person familiar with the negotiations said that Microsoft’s preliminary offer was like “robbing the owner when the house is on fire.” According to US media reports, in addition to Microsoft, many companies including Twitter, Blackstone, Sequoia Capital, SoftBank, and Transatlantic Investments also want to join the deal negotiations. At the same time, US government officials continue to stigmatize and suppress TikTok. U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin stated on the 10th that TikTok “cannot continue to collect data on Americans on a large scale in the current form” and that “the Treasury Department has the tools needed to correct this situation”.

  Reuters quoted a source on the 10th as saying that Microsoft hopes to split some of TikTok’s assets from Bytedance. This is technically quite complicated, and it must achieve the kind of “complete cutting” that Trump and US lawmakers hope. ", it may take a year or more. According to US media previously disclosed, TikTok may file a lawsuit against Trump's executive order to ban TikTok as soon as Tuesday, local time.