Microsoft is facing criticism online after announcing thousands of job cuts, including 1,600 positions in its Xbox division, while continuing to receive
approval to hire foreign workers through the US H-1B visa programme. The technology company said it would cut 4,800 jobs across its business, with the Xbox gaming division among those affected. According to data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Microsoft has been approved to hire 2,273 employer-sponsored non-immigrant workers under the H-1B visa programme this year. The company also has additional H-1B applications pending. The layoffs prompted criticism on social media, with some users arguing that American workers were being displaced in favour of foreign employees. One user on X wrote: "Fire Americans to replace with thousands of visa workers? Straight to jail, and assets seized." Another said: "It is the fault of our Government for approving the H-1Bs. Our Government has sold us out of jobs at home and those being moved to other countries." A third described the H-1B programme as "industrial scale job theft from Americans." Microsoft rejected suggestions that visa holders were being favoured over US workers. "These decisions are based on business need, not visa status. H-1B employees were also impacted by job eliminations in the U.S.," a company spokesperson told Fox News. Microsoft is among the largest users of the H-1B visa programme, ranking sixth among approved employers, according to the report. The programme is used by US companies to employ skilled foreign workers in specialised occupations. The Project for Immigration Reform criticised the programme, saying: "Every single employer is exploiting the H-1B visa program." Republican Congressman Riley Moore also called for it to be abolished. "This is INSANE. LEGAL immigration is a major problem. These companies, especially big tech, are abusing these immigration programs to replace American workers with foreign workers," he said. "No more. It's long past time to end the H-1B scam." Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma said the layoffs reflected the company's financial performance. "Our business today is not healthy," Ms Sharma wrote in a memo, according to the Associated Press. "We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses." She added that the restructuring was intended to "reset" Xbox. Some social media users also criticised Sharma, citing her Indian heritage in connection with the H-1B programme. The report notes that Sharma was born in Wisconsin. The debate comes as Vice-President JD Vance announced a federal investigation into alleged H-1B visa fraud. "Today, I'm proud to announce that the federal Department of Labor has started dozens of subpoenas and investigations into foreign fraudsters who are trying to take advantage of the H-1B visa program," Vance said during a press conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "American jobs ought to go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters and the Department of Labor is fighting back against it." The H-1B visa programme has also been the subject of legal and political debate. President Donald Trump previously signed an executive order introducing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications in an effort to curb employers' use of the programme. However, a federal judge later blocked the measure, ruling that such a fee amounted to a tax that could only be imposed by Congress.
