The jobs of about 200 young Nigerians are on the line as a global tech giant, Microsoft, is planning to close down its African Development Centre in Lagos.
If actualised, the move would spell a significant setback for the country’s technological landscape, job opportunities and innovation in the industry.
Reports said on Tuesday that Microsoft had, on Monday, informed the staff of the closure plans.
The closure appears to affect only the ADC’s West Africa operations in Nigeria, but not its East Africa facility in Nairobi, Kenya
Although the company is still silent on the rationale behind the decision, reports suggest that it might be due to the nation’s unhealthy business environment.
The reports further revealed that the affected employees had been slated to receive salary till June and would continue to be covered by health insurance.
Recall that Microsoft launched its $100 million African Development Centers initiative in 2019, establishing facilities in both Lagos and Nairobi.
The Nigeria centre employed over 120 engineers after the launch in 2022 and later grew to more than 200 total staff members.
The Lagos Centre was inaugurated to develop innovative technology solutions to address challenges across Africa and globally.
As at then, the Managing Director of Microsoft ADC West Africa, Gafar Lawal, reportedly said: “We intended to recruit 500 full-time engineers by the end of the year or by 2023. However, currently, we have exceeded 500. This is to tell you about the abundance of talents we have in Africa.”
“This also creates opportunities for engineers to do meaningful work from their home countries and be plugged into a global engineering and development organisation,” said a Microsoft statement.
