This article is from WeChat official account:Xin Zhiyuan (ID: AI_era), author: Ashley Stewart, from the title figure: vision China
According to Microsoft’s internal investigation information disclosed by “Business Insider” in the United States, more than 60% of Microsoft employees do not want the company to acquire TikTok, and some employees think this transaction is “immoral.”
In fact, only 250 people participated in the survey, but it also reflects the attitude of employees toward this matter to a certain extent.
Netizens said that employees with a small sample number do not vote. 99% of employees still think 996 is unethical.
Unethical trading! 63% of Microsoft employees said they “opposed” the acquisition
A survey of Microsoft employees found that 63% of employees opposed the acquisition plan, which was reportedly worth 25 to 40 billion U.S. dollars, and only 18% supported it.
Employees posted on the company’s internal social networking site Yammer, a group called CEO Connection, saying that participating in acquisition negotiations makes it feel “we are not doing the right thing.”
Yammer is a corporate social networking service owned by Microsoft. The CEO connection group is usually used by employees to ask questions to the CEO or participate in discussions on Microsoft-related topics.
U.S. Business Insider learned that in a survey on Yammer, when asked whether Microsoft should buy TikTok, 63% of employees chose “no”.
Another 19% said they were “unsure” and only 18% said “support”.
The survey surveyed 250 of Microsoft’s 150,000 employees. The survey sample is only a small part, but it can also reflect the company’s internal attitude towards this transaction to a certain extent.
In a comment on this transaction, an employee wrote: “Especially since Nadella became CEO, I have been very proud of being a member of this company. This is how long I am For the first time since time, I feel inner torment and feel that we are not doing the right thing.”
Another netizen added: “From any point of view, this transaction is unethical. Even Microsoft wants to consider intervening in this matter itself is unimaginable.” The netizen also mentioned this. Market transactions will damage Microsoft’s reputation.
The focus of criticism from employees is mainly the “strong buying and selling” surrounding this transaction and Trump’s coercion and intervention in raising corporate behavior to the national level. One of the employees bluntly stated that the act of paying commissions to the Trump administration for acquisitions is a kind of “bribery.”
Someone commented on Twitter: “Applause for those who are still sober.”
Of course, many Chinese netizens pointed out that only 250 people participated in the voting in a company with a size of more than 100,000 people. The sample is too small to explain the problem.
Some people have also pointed out that this kind of internal voting feels like singing a blushing face and setting a moral benchmark. But in fact, employee voting is only information obtained privately by the American Business Insider magazine. Why did it deliberately “set an ethical benchmark in media exposure?”
On the Internet, an article entitled “After Nadella took office, what was it like to work at Microsoft? “It is mentioned in the report, “Whether it is in the United States or Beijing, Microsoft employees are very upright and very honest. These two points are unquestionable. And everyone is open to accept the differences of others and respect each other’s opinions. “
Oxford University lecturer commented on Trump: Mafia-style blackmail
In recent reports, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Microsoft internal employees have expressed their disapproval of this acquisition. Even if the ideas of these 250 people reflect the overall attitude of the employees, they will not be able to shake the Microsoft management. The decision-making cannot reverse the overall situation.
If you say who is the most unethical character in this deal, it’s not TrumpIt must be. And when did the reason for “immorality” appear in Trump’s dictionary?
The “commission” remarks have shocked four people, aroused the attention of the entire business community, and have been compared to mafia-style blackmail by some.
Mark Almond, Lecturer in Modern History at Oxford University(Mark Almond) recently stated that Trump seems to be asking for “pizzo”— —Italian gang’s name for protection money.
He told the media that this is not only a release of hostility towards China, but it may also send a signal to other countries that currently have no hostility towards the United States. “This gives his enemies, especially his enemies in the United States, reason to say that this looks like a mafia looting.”
It’s hard to do it alone, it’s rumored that the Blackstone Group assisted Microsoft in the acquisition
The employees are busy opposing it. What the management has to deal with is how to get this “hot potato” in the pocket.
Such a major transaction is naturally difficult to handle on its own. According to media reports, the Blackstone Group is also assisting Microsoft in negotiating an acquisition.
FokkerAccording to the latest news from Sri Lanka Business Report, Microsoft is seeking help from the Blackstone Group, a large private equity fund that manages more than $600 billion in assets, to join this controversial acquisition.
The business insider website stated that the TikTok business that Microsoft is seeking to acquire is worth 25 to 40 billion US dollars, which will be the largest transaction in Microsoft history.
With nearly 600 billion assets under management, the Blackstone Group is one of the largest investment companies in the world. The Blackstone Group is a well-known private equity investment and investment management company in the United States. It was founded in 1985 by Schwarzman Schwarzman and Peter George Peterson. It is headquartered in Manhattan, New York, with offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai. , Hong Kong and other places have offices.
It is said that the Blackstone Group showed great interest in joining Microsoft’s bid in an early conversation with Microsoft a few weeks ago. But with the growing controversy surrounding TikTok’s future, this investment tycoon has gradually retreated, and the company’s interest in playing a role in acquisitions has recently weakened.
As Bill Gates described before, this “hot potato” seems to awe the big guys around.
However, the Blackstone Group did not completely give up participating in the acquisition of Microsoft, and still discussed possible investment opportunities internally.
The report mentioned that since the company announced the possible transaction on August 2, Microsoft and ByteDance’s external investors, including General Atlantic Partners and Sequoia Capital, have been weighing various Investment strategy, coordinate all partners in order to reach the final transaction.
These people familiar with the matter added that General Atlantic Partners and Sequoia Capital will remain potential partners of the new company and may remain in the investment team.
Reference link: https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-tiktok-trump-leaked-messages-employee-opposition-2020-8
This article is from WeChat official account:Xin Zhiyuan (ID: AI_era), author: Ashley Stewart