'If AI is the reason...': Viral post asks why companies are still asking for H-1Bs
A viral post claimed companies which are laying off are still looking for H-1Bs to hire.
Amid a major layoff being announced by US companies, a post has gone viral which shows that Microsoft, one of the 10 companies employing foreign labor, sought 14,181 H-1Bs. The post shared the H-1B requirements of other companies, including Amazon, NVIDIA, Cisco, Goldman Sachs, Oracle, Apple etc.
The post by investigative journalist Amanda Louise noted that despite tech layoffs, H-1B demand hasn't slowed down.
"Microsoft just cut thousands of American workers...yet they've already requested 14,181 more H-1B workers this year, and it's only Q2," the post noted. "If AI is the reason Americans are being let go, why are companies still asking for hundreds of thousands of foreign tech workers? Something doesn't add up."
the post added.
Social media users reacted to the post, starting the ongoing debate over H-1Bs eating up American jobs at a lower price. "AI: Another Indian," one comment read. "The obvious answer is the H1B system has ALWAYS only been about importing workers to drive down the wages of tech workers. This is why both parties, all the billionaires, and all the CEO's agree on this issue, they don't care about America - they only care about cheap workers!" one user wrote.
"Any company that is firing people shouldn't be allowed to apply for H1B visas. There should be some kind of freeze period. This is just ridiculous," another wrote.
"Not gonna say where I work but another big tech company. Our bosses frequently go to India on hiring sprees, while laying off thousands here. I need to learn how to farm and get a quiet place on the coast," one shared personal experience.
In May, Microsoft announced cut of 6,000 roles targeting sales, management and non-coding roles. Intel plans to eliminate roughly 20 per cent of its workforce, which will come to around 21000 jobs.
According to the latest data of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Trump administration selected 120, 141 H-1B visa applications for 2026.
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