Report: Nearly 400 Jobs at Risk as Microsoft Plans to Close Nairobi Centre
Employees have reportedly been asked to discuss exit options as Microsoft proposes changes to its Kenyan engineering operations. The company has not confirmed a closure that would reverse a seven-year effort to build global software from Africa.
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Oct 13, 12:00 UTC ·
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Microsoft plans to close its Nairobi engineering centre, putting nearly 400 jobs at risk and reversing a major investment in African software talent, according to TechCabal. [1]
The centre occupies Dunhill Towers in Nairobi's Westlands district. [1]
CIO Africa separately reported that a source who worked at the centre said employees had been told on October 12 that it would close. Microsoft has acknowledged proposed changes to its Kenyan engineering operations without confirming the reported shutdown. [2]
The Africa Development Centre opened in 2019 with a promise that engineers could work on global products from their home countries. Its sister centre in Lagos closed in May 2024. A Nairobi shutdown would extend that retreat to the Kenyan operation Microsoft said would be unaffected by the Lagos closure. [1]
"We are communicating directly with employees in Kenya about proposed changes to our engineering operations," a Microsoft spokesperson told TechCabal. The company said it remained committed to Kenya. [1]
Microsoft has not confirmed a closure, the number of affected employees, when changes would take effect or the specific reason for them. The reports also do not establish the final terms of severance or redeployment, or whether a proposed government-company action plan could change the centre's fate. [1][2]
Employees prepare for exits
The accounts from inside the centre describe staff preparing to leave. Two other employees told TechCabal they expected their meetings with supervisors to concern severance rather than whether they would keep their jobs. One said, "Our case is sealed. We just didn't know when." [1]
A person familiar with the matter told TechCabal that fewer than 10 employees were expected to remain. That expected group included sales and recruiting staff, two people in Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions, and workers on AI for Good. It is the source's expectation, not an agreed final headcount. [1]
The roles described would leave a much smaller presence than the engineering operation built over the past seven years. They also help explain why Microsoft's pledge to keep operating in Kenya can coexist with a reported plan to close the centre. Serving customers and employing a large team to build software are different commitments.
Microsoft told CIO Africa that the proposed changes were part of global changes affecting its Kenyan engineering department. It said it would continue operating in the country and supporting customers across the region. [2]
For employees, the immediate issue is what those changes mean for their contracts. The reported instruction to discuss exit options by October 16 gives them a concrete deadline, even as the company's public description remains broad. [1]
A promise built around staying home
When Microsoft launched the Africa Development Centre in 2019, then corporate vice president Michael Fortin said it would allow engineers to do "meaningful work from their home countries" as part of a global engineering organisation. [1]
The initial hiring plan called for 100 engineers by the end of 2019 and a workforce of 500 across Nairobi and Lagos by 2023. In December 2022, Microsoft President Brad Smith said the Nairobi centre alone employed more than 450 engineers. [1]
That historical figure and the nearly 400 jobs now reportedly at risk describe different points in the centre's life. The earlier number does, however, show how far the Nairobi operation had grown beyond the launch plan's initial recruitment target. [1]
Microsoft recruited engineers from Kenyan banks, telecommunications companies and technology firms, according to TechCabal. The centre offered those workers a route into a global software business without having to move abroad. [1]
The reported closure would remove a substantial employer of that specialised talent. The question for Kenya is where the work goes next, and whether engineers who built careers around working locally can find comparable opportunities without leaving. A corporate office can remain open while the engineering careers that gave it broader significance disappear.
TechCabal reported that Microsoft announced about 4,800 job cuts in July 2026 and about 15,000 in 2025. It found no public evidence directly linking those cuts to the reported Nairobi closure. Those figures provide a wider restructuring backdrop, not a demonstrated explanation for this decision. [1]
Kenya presses for a plan
Kenya's ICT minister, William Kabogo, said he met a Microsoft delegation on October 12 and pressed the company to protect jobs at the Nairobi engineering centre. According to his account, Microsoft described its evolving Kenyan operations in the context of global restructuring and reaffirmed its long-term commitment to the country. [1][2]
Kabogo said the two sides agreed to draft a joint action plan. Its contents have not been disclosed. For workers preparing for discussions about severance, the useful measures would be concrete ones: jobs retained, transfers offered or support for finding new work. A statement of commitment alone cannot answer those questions. [1][2]
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