Microsoft
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
US tech company selling Surface laptops and Xbox consoles.
Microsoft's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2019, and there's no proof it pays more than the legal minimum, which in China is below a living wage.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, forced or child labour and untraced high-risk mined materials. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2019) is more than 5 years old.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
- Checks its own supply chain. Microsoft looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found forced labour in 2024 and unpaid or underpaid wages in 2024 and is fixing them, so they don't count against the grade. Another problem on its record counts against the grade: a forced labour link in 2019. They're listed below under Confirmed issues.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in China, Vietnam and Malaysia.
- Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listPublishes its supplier list
- Not met: Traces its cobalt, gold and other conflict minerals to the mine
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- Red flag: Relies on high-risk mined materials it can't traceShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Microsoft publishes its supplier list, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where electronics are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| TaiwanUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| MalaysiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: cobalt, tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold mining carry child and forced labour risk (DR Congo, Indonesia), and assembly overtime is widespread.
- Publishes supplier list
- Modern slavery statement
- Relies on metals such as cobalt, gold and tin from artisanal mines where miners, including children, face toxic dust, mercury exposure and deadly tunnel collapses. It hasn't shown any steps to trace these materials to the mine, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Microsoft's Surface and Xbox products are made by contract manufacturers, reported mainly in China and Vietnam, but it does not disclose production shares. It discloses supplier names, is an RBA board member, runs a workers' voice hotline and requires suppliers to repay recruitment fees. In 2025, 83% of its tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold smelters passed RMAP audits, and it asks suppliers to report on cobalt and mica. KnowTheChain rated it weak on purchasing practices and worker voice in 2022 (it was not in the 2025 benchmark), and it makes no living wage commitment.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Microsoft lodges annual Supply Chain Integrity Statements on the Australian Modern Slavery Register, most recently for FY2024. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Problem found | ASPI's 2020 Uyghurs for Sale report named Microsoft among brands linked to factories using transferred Uyghur workers. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not listed | Not in KnowTheChain's 2025 ICT benchmark of 45 companies; scored 33/100 in the 2022 edition. View |
Confirmed issues 3
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Microsoft's own devices supplier monitoring found workers had paid prohibited recruitment fees, including at a Malaysian supplier using migrant workers (Microsoft Supply Chain Integrity Statement, 2024). Source · search the archiveFound and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | YesMicrosoft required suppliers to repay fees: US$66,939 to 2,216 workers in FY2024 and US$44,479 to 2,147 in FY2023. |
| 2024 | Microsoft's FY2024 devices supplier assessments recorded 368 code of conduct findings, including 73 on working hours and 93 on labour management systems (Microsoft Supply Chain Integrity Statement, 2024). Source · search the archiveFound and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | Partly215 of 368 findings were closed by the end of FY2024. |
| 2019 | Link through a supplierThe Australian Strategic Policy Institute named Microsoft among 83 brands whose supply chains included Chinese factories using Uyghur workers moved there under state labour transfer programmes (ASPI, 2020). Source · search the archive | Not known |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Families of Congolese children killed or injured in cobalt mines sued Microsoft, Apple, Google, Dell and Tesla; a US appeals court upheld dismissal of the case in 2024 without ruling on the abuses (Jurist, 2024). Source
- KnowTheChain recorded one allegation of forced labour in Microsoft's supply chains in its 2022 ICT benchmark; Microsoft was not in the 2025 edition (KnowTheChain, 2022). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Uyghurs for Sale (ASPI, 2020) · search the archive · Lists Microsoft among 82 brands potentially benefiting from Uyghur labour transfers outside Xinjiang as recently as 2019
- KnowTheChain 2022 ICT Scorecard: Microsoft · search the archive · Scored 33/100 in 2022 (not in the 2025 edition); weak on purchasing practices and worker voice; one forced labour allegation
- Microsoft FY24 Supply Chain Integrity Statement (Australian Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · 368 devices findings, 215 closed; US$66,939 fees repaid to 2,216 workers; Malaysia migrant issue; RBA board member
- Microsoft FY23 Supply Chain Integrity Statement (Australian Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · US$44,479 recruitment fees repaid to 2,147 workers; 188 factories covered by workers' voice hotline
- US appeals court dismisses DRC child labor case against Tesla, other tech companies (Jurist, 2024) · search the archive · Cobalt child labour lawsuit naming Microsoft dismissed on appeal in 2024
- Guru3D: Microsoft reportedly moves Surface and Xbox production out of China by 2026 · search the archive · Microsoft is reportedly preparing to stop making Surface laptops and Xbox consoles in China by 2026, which means they are currently made in China
Published by Microsoft or its owner
- Microsoft RY2025 Conflict Minerals Report · search the archive · 220 of 266 3TG smelters (82.7%) RMAP conformant; cobalt and mica reporting required; covers Surface and Xbox
Company details
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Microsoft ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/microsoft, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded laptops and computers
No laptops and computers brand selling new goods is Good yet. This is the strongest so far. Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.
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