05:50 AM EDT, 05/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with Microsoft's ( MSFT ) response in the last paragraph.)

Microsoft ( MSFT ) has offered to relocate hundreds of its China-based employees amid the Biden administration putting tougher controls on China's access to artificial intelligence technology, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

About 700 to 800 China-based employees, mostly engineers who are involved in machine learning or cloud computing, were offered to relocate to the US, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand, according to the report. One of the sources said the offer was made earlier this week.

A Microsoft ( MSFT ) spokesperson said that providing its employees "internal opportunities" is an ordinary aspect of its business operations. "As part of this process, we shared an optional internal transfer opportunity with a subset of employees," the spokesperson said.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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