Latest news with #StevenCamarota
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Microsoft seeks 6,000 worker visas amid mass layoffs
Microsoft applied for as many as 6,000 specialized migrant worker visas leading up to a decision to terminate 9,000 jobs globally, according to new reports. The global tech giant revealed this week it would cut around 4 percent of its global workforce as it ramps up investments in artificial intelligence. The move has seen loyal, long term American employees lose their livelihoods and sparked unrest at a time when President Donald Trump is trying to ramp up local production and employment. But data compiled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service suggests that in the 2025 fiscal year, Microsoft has already applied for 4,712 H1-B visas. Anecdotal commentary on X among former staff and insiders actually places this number closer to 6,000 - but the exact figure has not been verified. But the visa is often tied to a specific role at a specific company, meaning an employee's right to live in the United States is tied to their employment and, theoretically, making it less likely that they will quit their jobs. Once their role is terminated, they often have to leave the United States. 'In some sense, there's nothing strange here,' 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 always disconnected from the actual behavior of businesses. 'The actual data we have never supports the idea that we are terribly short of workers in the way that the business community says.' The tech giant will slash around 9,000 jobs across different teams, geographies and levels of experience, the company said on Wednesday. 'We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,' Microsoft said in a statement. It is the fourth round of layoffs at Microsoft this year following the cutting of 1 percent of its headcount in January, 6,000 further job cuts in May and 300 more in June. In April, Microsoft said it planned to use third-party firms to handle more sales of software to small and mid-size customers. The company had a global headcount of 228,000 at the end of June 2024. Microsoft has market capitalization of over $3 trillion - the biggest in the world - but it is looking to rein in costs as it funnels billions into its ambitious bet on artificial intelligence. But its use of expert foreign labor is among the highest in the United States, ranking seventh out of the top 10 US corporations. Amazon ranks first, with 9,200 applications in 2024. has reached out to Microsoft regarding its use of the H1-B visa program. There is no known or confirmed link between the H1-B visas Microsoft is applying for and the global cuts which have been made. But this has not stopped MAGA supporters from calling for the visas to be stopped while layoffs of local employees are taking place. 'This is economic treason. Approving a single H1B right now is a grave betrayal of your fellow citizens,' right-wing X account Pine Baron wrote. 'How is this not economic treason? Every H1B approved now is a slap in the face to hardworking Americans. Stand up for your fellow citizens,' another said. 'Trump should be stopping H1-B until this is under control. Microsoft should not be allowed a visa person for 10 years,' a third wrote. Amid Trump's efforts to deport illegal immigrants and bring work back to America, the H1-B visa has drawn the ire of MAGA loyalists who believe its existence takes jobs away from hardworking Americans. Supporters of the visa program, including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, argued the program attracts high value workers to the United States and even suggested they were in favor of increasing work visa allowances. But the president's base is still vehemently opposed. Trump himself has not indicated he has any plans to change the H1-B visa scheme, even as he seeks to carry out the largest mass deportation agenda in US history. 'The problem here is, for the most part, the system works well for business, and if it works pretty well for business, well the incentive to change it in ways that would protect American workers is hard,' Camarota said. 'The reality is that the business community is convinced they need the workers and there is tremendous skepticism in the part of the public. The end result is political stalemate in terms of reforms.' Microsoft experienced one of its best ever quarters between January and March, with $26billion in profit. Stock is up nearly 20 percent year-to-date. The news comes days after Amazon's CEO announced brutal workforce cuts as the company also increases its use of AI. Amazon boss Andy Jassy said he plans to reduce the company's corporate workforce over the next few years as the tech will make certain roles redundant. Jassy told employees in a note seen by the Wall Street Journal that AI was a once-in-a-lifetime technological advancement and it has already transformed how Amazon operates. 'As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,' he wrote in the memo. It is not yet clear how many workers will lose their jobs and when the cuts will come. 'It's hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce,' Jassy (pictured) explained. Those close to the matter told the outlet that a large chunk of the decrease in headcount would hopefully occur via attrition. This means as employees move on their roles will not be filled. However, this will not cover all of the reductions and layoffs are still expected to occur at some point. Amazon is the second largest employer in the country and is seen as a bellwether for employment stability. The company has already slowed hiring, suggesting AI is already influencing the company's staffing needs. It is also clear the company is betting big on the new technology, after it revealed plans to splash $100 billion on data centers that AI depends on.
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Microsoft's H-1B Visa Applications Questioned Amid Mass Layoffs
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 is under growing pressure to account for its H-1B visa requests after announced another round of layoffs this week, affecting around 9,000 employees across its global headcount. The latest round of layoffs, hitting roughly 4 percent of the tech giant's workforce, comes after two other waves in May and June, affecting another 8,000 in total. The company has laid off nearly 16,000 people in total this year, out of a 228,000-strong global employee base. In the weeks that followed those layoff announcements, claims began circulated on X that the company had also applied for upwards of 6,000 high-skilled work visas, or H-1Bs, since October, the start of the current fiscal year. While that number could not be independently confirmed, during the last fiscal year, Microsoft applied for 9,491 H-1B visas. All were approved. "In some sense, there's nothing strange here," 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 always disconnected from the actual behavior of businesses. "The actual data we have never supports the idea that we are terribly short of workers in the way that the business community says." People walk by the Microsoft Office building on 41st street and 8th avenue on May 13, 2025 in New York City. People walk by the Microsoft Office building on 41st street and 8th avenue on May 13, 2025 in New York City. CraigWhile not the largest recipient of H-1B visas — Amazon takes that title with over 9,200 in 2024 — Microsoft still placed seventh out of the top ten U.S. corporations with around 4,700 approvals, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) data released earlier this year. Newsweek repeatedly reached out to Microsoft for comment on this story, specifically asking about the number of H-1Bs the company is presently requesting and how many of them are for positions being eliminated through layoffs. When announcing its layoffs this year, the Redmond, Wash.-based company insisted that it was flattening its management layers, as opposed to targeting software engineers and developers at lower levels. However, the Seattle Times reported that only around 17 percent of those laid off at the Redmond campus were designated as managers. Microsoft's cuts also come after one of its best quarters ever, with the company announcing $26 billion in profit from January through March. Its stock is up nearly 20 percent year-to-date, at a time when tech companies across the board are looking to replace certain jobs, particularly in coding and engineering, with AI. With H-1B workers are typically seen as cheaper than Americans to employ, outrage has been spreading across social media from those who oppose the visa. There is no confirmed link between Microsoft's layoffs and its H-1B applications. "This is economic treason. Approving a single H1B right now is a grave betrayal of your fellow citizens," the influential right-wing X user Pine Baron wrote in response to the latest round of Microsoft layoffs, while the account U.S. Tech Workers, linked to the Institute for Sound Public Policy, asked if the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) would investigate. Newsweek reached out to the DOL about Microsoft's layoffs and whether it monitors companies hiring practices in relation to H-1B issuances. Many tech companies benefit from the H-1B program, which involves them sponsoring individuals to come to the U.S. and work. Typically, the visa is tied to a particular role and company, meaning workers cannot easily change jobs and often have to leave the U.S. once their role is terminated. This makes them easier to employ at cheaper costs, and less likely to quit. The re-election of Donald Trump has sparked a heated debate within the Republican Party over high-skilled immigration, specifically H1-B visas. The re-election of Donald Trump has sparked a heated debate within the Republican Party over high-skilled immigration, specifically H1-B visas. Getty Images The program has become a flashpoint on the right, largely between the MAGA movement that believes H-1Bs take away jobs from American-born workers and the Big Tech executives who support Donald Trump but also do not want to see H-1Bs eliminated. "The reality is that the business community is convinced they need the workers and there is tremendous skepticism in the part of the public, and the end result is political stalemate in terms of reforms," Camarota said. At the end of 2024, debate around the H-1B blew up on social media, as Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy – set at the time to co-lead the DOGE initiative – came out in favor of the program and called for even more work visas, while the president's base made it clear it was not in the spirit of MAGA. President Trump, as a businessman, has long been in favor of H-1Bs and has not given much indication he will look to modify the program. "The problem here is, for the most part, the system works well for business, and if it works pretty well for business, well the incentive to change it in ways that would protect American workers is hard," Camarota said, referring to that debate. "If they reformed H-1B, probably anything that would make it through Congress given the skepticism about it, would be more regulations and they don't want it."
