Big Tech firms are turning to low-cost foreign workers in the wake of mass layoffs, undermining arguments the layoffs were the result of overhiring.
According to investigative reporter Lee Fang, some of the biggest names in tech have requested thousands of H1-B foreign worker visas just weeks after engaging in mass layoffs. The list of companies includes “Facebook/Meta Platforms, Amazon, Zoom, Salesforce, Microsoft, and Palantir.”
Needless to say, the news is not likely to go over well with tech workers, many of whom were told the layoffs were a necessary response to a sagging economy and ‘overextending’ themselves during the peak of the pandemic.
Instead, the new message appears to be: “We wanted to get rid of high-cost employees in favor of low-cost ones.”
Some CEOs have already taken flak for their handling of the layoffs, with employees likening Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai to Shrek villain Lord Farquaad because of his tone-deaf handling of the situation.
This new revelation is unlikely to help CEOs and tech companies image.
