US tech giant fires 400 over video call, exits country due to rising…

The tech giant entered the country in 1999 and had been regarded as a top employer for 17 consecutive years.

In a major retreat from one of the world’s biggest tech markets, US software company SAS Institute has shut down its operations in China and laid off around 400 employees, many of whom learned of their termination through a short video call. The move ends more than 20 years of direct business in the country, underscoring the mounting pressure foreign tech companies face amid intensifying geopolitical tensions and aggressive domestic competition.

Its departure adds to a growing list of US tech companies that have scaled back their presence.(Pexels/Representational Image)

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, employees first received an email informing them of an urgent meeting. During the brief call, executives cited “organisational optimisation” as the reason for the exit. Staff were then told to sign separation agreements by November 14. The compensation package includes one month’s pay for each year of service, two extra months of salary, a year-end bonus, and pay through the end of 2025.

SAS later confirmed the decision, saying it would no longer operate directly in China but might continue its presence through third-party partners. A company spokesperson said the exit was part of a broader effort to reorganise its global footprint for long-term sustainability. The company’s Chinese website and job listings have already disappeared, and office visits by reporters revealed largely empty workspaces.

SAS entered China in 1999 and had been regarded as a top employer for 17 consecutive years. It once ran a major R&D and support centre in Beijing and maintained offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou. But despite its strong legacy and reputation, the combination of a challenging business climate and tightening regulatory scrutiny appears to have forced the analytics firm to pull the plug.

Its departure adds to a growing list of US tech companies that have scaled back their presence in China. Dell has reduced staff across multiple divisions, Micron has cut jobs amid global restructuring, and IBM recently shut down one of its main Chinese entities following extensive layoffs last year.

While SAS insists this shift is part of a global optimisation effort, the timing, alongside similar exits, reflects the increasingly complex landscape foreign tech firms must navigate in China.