Following the United Kingdom’s decision to exit the European Union on 23rd June and amid concerns that many businesses will be pulling out of the country, Microsoft CEO Sataya Nadella says:
“We’ve been there for 30 years and we’re going to continue to invest because it’s a huge market and a place which is pretty core to us. We’re a global company – 55 percent of our revenues are global –so what happens in Britain and around the globe matters a lot to us.”
This mirrors the statement of Microsoft’s UK Chief Executive Michel Van der Bel earlier in the year, who despite announcing that “Our view is that the U.K. should remain in the EU.
The U.K. remaining in the EU supports important criteria for continued and future investment by Microsoft and others,” assured that “Whatever the outcome of the referendum, we respect the decisions made by UK voters. Our commitment to our staff and business here remains firm.”
The U.K accounts for 7-8% of Microsoft’s revenue and houses six of its offices. One concern is that after the official exit, scheduled for two years after Article 50 is triggered, they may face problems with their cloud hosting services. The company would have to prove that their data stored abroad is safe from the NSA and other US spying agencies.
Whatever the case, their continued support will likely set a precedent for other tech companies who are looking to them for guidance.
