A major blow for AI in France: Microsoft will close its engineering center near Paris.

While Microsoft is making numerous announcements about AI and showcasing its ambitions in France, particularly in training, the American group plans to close its Microsoft Engineering Center located in Issy-les-Moulineaux.

Announced in recent days to employee representatives, the project aims for a complete cessation of activity by the summer, and more than a hundred engineers would be affected. Officially, this is not a partial reduction plan, but rather the closure of the center, which opened in 2011 on the outskirts of Paris.

A strategic center focused on artificial intelligence

Located at Microsoft France's headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, the engineering center had gradually specialized in AI since 2019, with the mission of developing technological building blocks used globally, particularly for the Azure, Dynamics 365, and Power Platforms.

According to several internal accounts, the Paris teams contributed very early on to the work around Microsoft Copilot and to the integration of generative AI functionalities into the group's low-code tools. Calls related to these uses would, in part, be routed through services designed in France.

Until now, the center brought together more than 100 engineers from about twenty countries, with profiles in software engineering, applied mathematics, or product design.

A logic of concentration around global hubs

For its part, management mentions a rationalization of technical teams on an international scale. For Microsoft, the goal is to consolidate engineering forces in a few major strategic hubs, notably in Redmond, the group's historical headquarters, and in Dublin for Europe. However, in an official statement to L’Usine Digitale, Microsoft specifies that no final decision has yet been made and that the consultation phase is underway. Indeed, the company assures that it wants to support the employees concerned, and indicates that relocation options to other centers may be offered.

Job cuts are piling up for Microsoft…

This closure comes a few months after the announcement of a wave of layoffs affecting 9,000 employees last July, which at the time concerned 4% of the company's workforce, but also 6,000 employees in May, including its AI director.

Moreover, the contrast is striking with the group's recent commitments to the French market, as in 2024, its president Brad Smith announced €4 billion in investments dedicated to AI in France.

The closure of the Paris center therefore does not signal a withdrawal from the French market, but illustrates a strategic refocusing, despite a slight decline in AI activity these past few months recent weeks.