Microsoft's Nairobi engineering centre: is it really closing?

On Oct 12, 2026, staff at Microsoft's Africa Development Centre in Nairobi were told the site is being shut down, according to employees who spoke to CIO Africa. Microsoft hasn't used the word closure. A spokesperson called them "proposed changes" from a global restructuring that have "impacted the engineering department in Kenya", and said the company will keep operating and supporting customers there. What's been reported so far:• Microsoft hasn't said how many people are affected, and hasn't shared timelines, severance or transfer options. The centre had more than 450 engineers and product leaders when its Nairobi campus opened in 2022.• Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Information and the Digital Economy, William Kabogo, met a Microsoft delegation the same day. He said he pushed for protecting jobs and keeping local talent, and both sides plan to draft a joint action plan.• The Lagos site closed in 2024, which leaves Nairobi as the last of the centre's two original sites.• A former senior product manager wrote on LinkedIn in September that some staff were offered a choice between a performance improvement plan and a "voluntary" exit. That account hasn't been confirmed, and Microsoft hasn't commented on it. If you're at the ADC or work closely with it, we'd like to hear:• Has anyone been offered a role on another team or in another country?• What has HR said about notice periods and severance?• If you've been through a site closure before, what helped most with the job search afterward? This thread was started by the Know The Boss team, and we'll update it as official details come out. Sources:techweez.com ↗tech-ish.com ↗cioafrica.co ↗

Know The Boss team · 13d ago