Microsoft has shut down its office in Pakistan following 25 years, due to worldwide restructuring and transitioning to a cloud-based, partner-first model.
The decision follows the tech giant laying off about 9,100 employees globally (or about 4% of its employees) in its biggest layoff batch since 2023, as covered by The Verge.
Microsoft never had a complete commercial presence in Pakistan, instead using liaison offices dedicated to enterprise, education, and government customers.
As the past few years have gone by, the majority of that work had already been outsourced to local partners, and licensing and contracts were being handled from its European headquarters in Ireland.
Former president Dr Arif Alvi condemned the move on social media, describing it as a “troubling sign.”
He alleged Microsoft had once thought of expanding in Pakistan, but instability made the company opt for Vietnam instead by late 2022. “The opportunity was lost,” he said.
Jawwad Rehman, who previously held the position of founding country manager at Microsoft Pakistan, stated that the exit mirrored today’s business environment.
“Even the likes of global giants like Microsoft realize it is unsustainable to remain,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
Habibullah Khan, a tech entrepreneur, added that Microsoft had earned revenue of only $50 million (less than 0.02% of global revenue) in Pakistan and that most of its local staff had already been reduced to scale.
Their connection with Pakistan was quite precarious,” he posted on X.
Though Microsoft will continue to support Pakistani customers through regional teams and partners, the shutdown highlights the increasing scrutiny of multinationals to organize foreign operations in lighter form amid shifting global priorities.
