Nando de Freitas, Vice President at Microsoft AI, has publicly criticised Google DeepMind over its employee contracts, claiming that staff members from the company frequently seek advice on how to escape restrictive notice periods and non-compete clauses.
In a post on X, de Freitas congratulated DeepMind on its recent model advancements but highlighted what he described as a troubling workplace culture. He alleged that DeepMind employees regularly approach him in “despair” to ask for help in bypassing contractual constraints and even inquire about job opportunities at Microsoft AI.
He further claimed that some employees are advised by their managers that seeking external job offers is a pathway to internal promotion.
“Please don’t reach out to me. Rather reach out to each other,” de Freitas urged DeepMind employees, directing them to engage with their leadership instead. He specifically mentioned DeepMind’s Koray Kavukcuoglu and Douglas Eck, stating that both have previously expressed opposition to such employment practices.
De Freitas strongly advised against signing restrictive contracts, arguing that no American corporation should wield such influence over employees, particularly in Europe. He characterised these contract terms as an “abuse of power.”
His remarks have sparked fresh scrutiny over employment policies in the tech industry, particularly at leading AI research firms, where non-compete clauses and extended notice periods have been criticised for limiting job mobility and innovation. DeepMind has yet to publicly respond to the allegations.
Meanwhile, in other news, Microsoft has scaled back its data centre expansion efforts across multiple regions, signalling a reassessment of its infrastructure investments amid evolving demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services. The technology giant has either delayed or withdrawn from projects in locations including the United Kingdom, Australia, Indonesia, and several sites in the United States, reported Bloomberg citing sources.
As a dominant force in commercial AI, largely due to its partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft’s infrastructure spending is closely monitored by investors. The company’s decision to slow down data centre developments has raised concerns about long-term demand for AI services and cloud computing.
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