"We have committed to an earliest leaving date of the end of September. From the time the announcement was made, this is longer than Nokia's earlier practice in China," Donald MacRae, human resources director for Microsoft's handset unit in China, wrote in an internal e-mail explaining the layoff plan.

Microsoft is offering employees at least a further month's salary than provided for under Chinese law. The employees are asking for more and for a longer "buffering period".

Chinese law states that employees are entitled to a month's compensation for each year they have worked for a company, plus an additional month's pay.

Mike Dai, a smartphone developer at the plant, described the company's move as a "violent action". Bigger protests are being planned, he said.

Zheng Dongliang, dean of the Institute of Labor Science, said direct dialogue between companies and employees is the best way to solve labor disputes.

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Fears grow over Microsoft's ax	Microsoft planning huge job cuts to cope with Nokia unit integration