Latest news with #H-1Bs
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Microsoft responds to H-1B criticism after JD Vance's rebuke, says job eliminations not related to visa program
After JD Vance's rebuke, Microsoft says its H-1B applications have nothing to do with layoffs. Microsoft has responded to the criticism that it fired American employees to hire foreign cheap labor saying that H-1B applications are no way related to the recent job eliminations and many employees on H-1Bs also lost their jobs. The statement comes amid an intense debate over Microsoft's announcement of 9,000 layoffs while the company reportedly made 4712 applications for H-1Bs. 'Our H-1B applications are in no way related to the recent job eliminations in part because employees on H-1B's also lost their roles. In the past 12 months, 78% of the petitions we filed were extensions for existing employees and not new employees coming to the U.S.,' the company said in a statement emailed to CFO Dive by a spokesperson. Vice President JD Vance recently slammed Microsoft and he said it makes no sense to him that companies fire Americans and then claim that they can't find workers in America and bring in foreign workers. "You see some big tech companies where they'll lay off 9,000 workers, and then they'll apply for a bunch of overseas visas. And I sort of wonder; that doesn't totally make sense to me," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villa Prices in Dubai Might Be Lower Than You Think! Villa for sale in Dubai | Search Ads Learn More Undo "That displacement and that math worries me a bit. And what the president has said, he said very clearly: We want the very best and the brightest to make America their home. We want them to build great companies and so forth. But I don't want companies to fire 9,000 American workers and then to go and say, 'We can't find workers here in America.' That's a bulls**t story," he said. The H-1B visa program that allows companies to hire foreign workers has emerged as a contentious issue while the Donald Trump administration is planning a major overhaul of the program. H-1B runs the Silicon Valley but this goes against Trump's promised America First policy prompting MAGA activists to call for an end to this program.
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Microsoft Responds to H-1B Visa Criticism
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Microsoft has denied criticisms that its recent spate of layoffs was connected to its use of the H-1B visa program, responding to a wave of political and public scrutiny following thousands of job cuts and continued recruitment of skilled foreign workers. The debate gained national attention after multiple reports questioned the ethics and economic impact of companies, like Microsoft, making significant layoffs while simultaneously applying for thousands of temporary work visas for high-skilled foreigners. Newsweek reached out to Microsoft via email for comment. Why It Matters Microsoft, which has reduced its workforce by about 16,000 employees this year, has consistently been among the top U.S. recipients of H-1B visa approvals. The H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations, has become increasingly controversial among some parts of the Republican Party, who see it as a way to undermine U.S. workers in favor of foreign workers. Sectors like technology, finance and academia are the primary beneficiaries; in 2024, leading firms such as Amazon, Google, Meta and Tesla secured thousands of H-1B approvals. What To Know Microsoft confirmed that it had laid off around 9,000 employees in its latest round of cuts, which accounted for about 4 percent of its workforce. These layoffs came after two earlier rounds this year, bringing the total number of jobs eliminated to nearly 16,000. Government data also showed the company applied for 9,491 H-1B visas during the previous fiscal year, all of which were approved. In a statement to CFO Dive, though, a Microsoft spokesperson said that the layoffs and the visas were unrelated, saying: "Our H-1B applications are in no way related to the recent job eliminations, in part because employees on H-1Bs also lost their roles. In the past 12 months, 78 percent of the petitions we filed were extensions for existing employees and not new employees coming to the U.S." Microsoft's restructuring happened during a notably strong financial quarter; the company reported $26 billion in profit, and its stock price rose roughly 20 percent in the first half of 2025. Illustrative image of the Microsoft logo in front of a screen showing the company's latest stock market chart on July 28, 2025, in Chongqing, China. Illustrative image of the Microsoft logo in front of a screen showing the company's latest stock market chart on July 28, 2025, in Chongqing, China. Getty Images What People Are Saying Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Microsoft's approach during a bipartisan event on Friday, saying: "You see some Big Tech companies where they'll lay off 9,000 workers, and then they'll apply for a bunch of overseas visas. That displacement and that math worries me a bit...I don't want companies to fire 9,000 American workers and then say, 'We can't find workers here in America.' That's a story that doesn't make sense." Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Newsweek: "You have a situation where the advocacy or use of guest worker programs is entirely disconnected from the actual behavior of businesses. The actual data never supports the idea that we are terribly short of workers in the way that the business community says." What Happens Next Continued debate over the H-1B visa program is expected as lawmakers, regulators, and advocacy groups push for greater transparency and possible reforms.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
'Makes no sense': JD Vance gives H-1B warning to Microsoft, Indians say he's not revealing that....
Vice president JD Vance slammed US companies prioritizing H-1Bs instead of giving jobs to Americans and said he does not believe in the bulls**t story that these companies can't find workers in America. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Speaking at a bipartisan event co-hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum, Vance questioned the ethics and economic logic behind mass layoffs by companies like Microsoft which is followed by an increase in H-1B applications. This suggests that these companies are laying off Americans and then applying to hire people from overseas. "You see some big tech companies where they'll lay off 9,000 workers, and then they'll apply for a bunch of overseas visas. And I sort of wonder; that doesn't totally make sense to me," Vance said. "That displacement and that math worries me a bit. And what the president has said, he said very clearly: We want the very best and the brightest to make America their home. We want them to build great companies and so forth. But I don't want companies to fire 9,000 American workers and then to go and say, 'We can't find workers here in America.' That's a bulls**t story." Microsoft recently laid off 9,000 employees globally and came under scrutiny for its use of the H-1B visa program. According to several social media claims. Microsoft submitted applications for more than 6,000 H-1B visas since October while they are also laying off so many employees. 'JD Vance is misleading people' An Indian-American tech investor reacted to JD Vance's suggestion and said the vice president would not mention that many of the 9,000 laid off employees were H-1Bs too and they got no severance, no safety net and just a 60-day countdown to leave the country. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Microsoft didn't bring in new foreign workers after laying people off , they renewed visas for long-time employees who've been in the U.S. legally for many many years, stuck in green card backlogs. Saying that's 'replacing Americans' is like saying letting a loyal employee stay and renew his visa in the building is the same as hiring someone new off the street. It's not. It's just letting them stay in the job they already earned," the tech investor wrote.
Time of India
23-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
H-1B wage levels: What will change in the new US immigration rules that will end visa lottery?
The proposed H-1B rule will be bad news for international graduates and senior American employees. The US administration is planning to bring in a new H-1B rule which will give weightage to wage level instead of the random lottery that takes place now when H-1B registration exceed the annual limit of 65,000 plus the additional 20,000 for individuals with an advanced degree from a US university. The new rule will not be applicable this year as 2026's registration quota has already been reached. US tech workers have welcomed the proposed changes as they think the changes will eliminate the possibility of U companies hiring foreign workers for posts that don't need high skills, as H-1B should be -- but they hire only to save money as they will have to pay less wage to a foreigner than a US citizen. Understanding weightage-based selection This is the same rule that the Trump administration wanted to bring in during the last term. 'USCIS will rank and select the petitions received on the basis of the highest Occupational Employment Statistics wage level that the proffered wage equals or exceeds for the relevant Standard Occupational Classification code in the area of intended employment, beginning with OES wage level IV and proceeding in descending order with OES wage levels III, II, and I. ' (The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program is within the Department of Labor.)" by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gentle Japanese hair growth method for men and women's scalp Hair's Rich Learn More Undo the 2021 DHS rule said. What does this mean? This means there will be no H-1B hiring at the entry level. Entry-level jobs will be protected for Americans. Based on the wages and expertise needed for a job, there are four levels: Entry, qualified, experienced and fully competent. The national average of entry-level salary is $83K, level 2 is $108K, level 3 is $127K and level 4 is $151K. International grads will suffer, senior American employees will face competition International graduates looking for entry-level jobs in America will suffer as they will not get a chance in the proposed system. While this is good news for American graduates, the new rule has bad news for senior American leadership as the new system will bring in more high-paid mid-level H-1Bs. Startups will also suffer as they won't be able to hire cheap labor from H-1Bs.
Miami Herald
22-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
H-1B visa: Trump administration signals major change for controversial foreign-worker program
The administration of President Donald Trump plans to change the criteria for awarding the controversial H-1B visa, intended for foreign workers with specialized skills, and heavily used by Silicon Valley technology companies. But the nature of the change remains unclear. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Thursday notified the federal Office of Management and Budget of a proposed rule involving a "weighted selection process" for the visa. The brief notification did not describe how the selection process would change if the rule were adopted. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not immediately respond to questions. Under Trump's first term, federal authorities dramatically boosted scrutiny of H-1B applications, and nearly doubled application denials, to one out of four applications in 2018. At the end of that term, his administration imposed a rule that made allocation of H-1B visas salary based, scrapping the lottery used to award visas. The rule was withdrawn by Trump's successor, former President Joe Biden. How long it may take for the rule to take effect is unclear. The proposal is to be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget, then get sent back to Citizenship and Immigration for publication in the Federal Register, which typically triggers a public-comment period. Finalization would require a review of the comments, submission of a final rule to the budget office, and publication of the final rule in the Federal Register with an implementation date. Some 600,000 foreign workers hold the H-1B, and each spring, 85,000 new H-1B visas are issued by lottery, most of them going to tech giants and staffing firms. Last year, Google received approval for some 5,300 new and continuing H-1Bs, according to federal government data. Meta received nearly 5,000 approvals, Apple close to 4,000, Intel about 2,500 and Oracle more than 2,000. While the tech industry pushes to expand the annual cap on new visas, arguing that they need the boost in order to secure the world's top talent, critics point to data suggesting the visa is widely used to undercut wages, and to cases where H-1B holders replaced U.S. workers. Related Articles • Melania Trump mocked for getting 'Einstein visa' in House hearing • Fremont company accused of employing Chinese workers illegally, discriminating against non-Chinese employees • H-1B visa: East Bay company agrees to fine over alleged discrimination against U.S. workers • The State Department is looking to revoke some Chinese student visas. How many in the Bay Area are at risk? Long a flashpoint in America's immigration debates, the H-1B sparked renewed controversy late last year as Trump was preparing to take office. Florida conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, a high-profile Trump supporter, assailed employment of Indian tech workers in the U.S. High-level public spats and angry punditry ensued, launching the H-1B into a sudden spotlight and exposing schisms over immigration inside Trump's Make America Great Again movement. Bay Area venture capitalist and Trump tech adviser David Sacks, along with Trump's former "government efficiency" adviser Elon Musk and Trump himself all backed the visa. Musk, after blowback from the right wing - including a threat to "rip your face off" by influential former Trump adviser Steve Bannon - said the visa needed fixing. Sacks called for unity and argued against expanding the H-1B program. Unemployment data for new graduates of U.S. colleges has also upped scrutiny of the H-1B, and criticism by advocates for U.S. workers. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February reported unemployment rates of 7.5% for computer engineering graduates and 6.1% for computer science grads. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
