Lawmakers demand answers from top US firms on H-1B hiring while cutting jobs
WASHINGTON: US lawmakers asked major companies including Apple, Amazon and JPMorgan on Thursday (Sep 25) to explain why they continue to hire thousands of foreign workers on H-1B visas while laying off American staff.
The letter follows the Trump administration’s plan to impose a new US$100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas and rework the program to favor higher-paid and higher-skilled applicants.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and Democratic Senator Dick Durbin wrote to 10 major employers demanding details on the number of foreign workers they employ, their wages and whether US workers have been displaced.
"With all of the homegrown American talent relegated to the sidelines, we find it hard to believe that Amazon cannot find qualified American tech workers to fill these positions," the senators wrote to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the letter.
BIG TECH FACES SCRUTINY
Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and other firms investing heavily in artificial intelligence have all announced layoffs this year. Yet they remain among the largest users of the H-1B program, which allows businesses to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.
Amazon and its cloud unit AWS received approval for more than 12,000 H-1B visas in the first half of 2025, while Microsoft and Meta had more than 5,000 approvals each, according to government data.
India accounted for 71 per cent of approved H-1B beneficiaries last year, with China second at 11.7 per cent.
Deloitte, Alphabet’s Google, Walmart, Cognizant and Tata Consultancy Services were also among the recipients of the lawmakers’ letter.
Microsoft declined to comment, while Walmart, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Meta and Cognizant did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
