Microsoft has spoken out against the possibility of Britain leaving the EU, perhaps the largest company so far to do so.  The Redmond-based tech giant is not alone in its opposition to Brexit (British Exit); Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and IBM, among others, have also joined Microsoft in its stance that such a move is bad for business and bad for Britain. Come June 23 the British public will cast their votes on the referendum.

Microsoft has stated that because Britain was part of the EU, this has been a reason why the company has expanded of late in the region. Microsoft’s first British office opened in 1982, and currently there are more than 5,000 Microsoft employees working across the pond.

In a letter Michel Van der Bel, Microsoft UK CEO, said that the company respected the varied reasons why British voters differ on opinions concerning Brexit, but as a business that will be affected if Britain should leave the EU, his company’s stance should be known. It’s thought that the decision could go either way.

Van de Bel started by outlining Microsoft’s long relationship with Britain and British business, but then goes on to talk about how Microsoft viewed the future of that relationship. Britain is, “One of the most attractive places in Europe for the range of investments we have made,” writes Van de Bel, adding, “At key moments in our international growth we have specifically chosen to invest in our capabilities here in the UK. Most recently, we announced that we would start offering cloud services this year from new UK-based data centres. And as we’ve grown, so too have the UK technology businesses we work with.”

On top of this he writes that it was partly due to Britain’s EU membership why Microsoft invested in its first overseas R&D laboratory in Cambridge, UK. Why? he asks. “Because we knew that the world-leading scientists we wanted to attract would want and need to work directly alongside other great researchers from across the region.”

In what seems like a veiled threat Van de Bel said Microsoft it was committed to doing business in the UK, but he also sternly added, “Remaining in the EU supports important criteria for continued and future investment by Microsoft and others.”

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