Satya Nadella's Move To Hire OpenAI Employees Sparks Discontent Among Microsoft Staff

Tech giant Microsoft MSFT is currently facing internal strife following an announcement to hire hundreds of employees from OpenAI. This move has sparked outrage among existing employees, particularly due to the company’s decision to match the OpenAI workers’ current compensation.

What Happened: According to a Business Insider report, Microsoft’s decision to hire OpenAI employees and match their pay has irked its existing workforce. The dissatisfaction comes from a year marked by job insecurity, layoffs, and salary freezes for current Microsoft staff.

Microsoft announced plans to lay off 10,000 employees earlier this year with the number of layoffs surpassing the original figure by July. Despite these cuts, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella announced the hiring of OpenAI’s ex-CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman to lead a new AI research group. This move, coupled with the assurance of jobs for all OpenAI employees, has led to perceived disparities among Microsoft’s workforce.

See Also: Satya Nadella’s Move To Hire Sam Altman Wins Universal Praise And Some ‘Revenge Of Clippy’ Humor

While some employees view the new OpenAI unit as a potential company booster, others see it as a morale-damaging move that has caused significant discontent.

Why It Matters: This latest development is a new chapter in a series of dramatic events at OpenAI. Over 96% of OpenAI’s employees had united in demanding the board’s resignation and the reinstatement of Altman and Brockman. OpenAI’s board refusal to comply with these demands has led to an escalating crisis, with a majority of employees ready to quit and follow Altman to Microsoft.

OpenAI’s board is now grappling to unify its staff and control the damage. However, the uncertainty continues, with the board’s efforts to pacify the employees yet to yield any concrete results.

Read Next: Apple, Google Wanted A ‘Deep, Deep Partnership’ And To ‘Work As If We Are One Company’

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