(Yicai Global) Feb. 3 -- A senior executive at Microsoft has denied a rumor that the US software giant plans to close its office in Suzhou, China.

Wang Yongdong, corporate vice president and chairman of Microsoft’s Asia Pacific research and development group, said in an email to employees on Feb. 1 that he is not aware of any plan to close the Suzhou office, The Paper reported today.

The rumor started spreading online after Microsoft announced on Jan. 18 that by March it would lay off 10,000 employees, or 5 percent of its entire workforce, because of poor economic conditions and a change in consumer demand. But the Redmond-based firm did not say which offices would be involved.

A source familiar with the matter also told The Paper that Microsoft China had not received any document or information from headquarters about downsizing, and rumors of massive layoffs at its Suzhou office were false. The office may be involved in product line adjustments instead.

But some employees took to social media, saying Microsoft was implementing some “slight adjustments” in Suzhou, with the firm unlikely to make some graduates hired last year permanent staff after their probationary periods end.

Microsoft has no specific plan for China during this round of global layoffs, the source added, noting that Microsoft China’s strategy in the near future is unclear.

Microsoft China was set up in November 1995. Of the 20 branches it opened in the country, only six are still open, according to corporate information platform Tianyancha. Established in 2013, the Suzhou branch is mainly involved in software and information technology services.

Editor: Futura Costaglione