Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant and eight other major corporations have been questioned by U.S. Senators for filing thousands of H-1B skilled labour visa petitions after conducting “mass layoffs” of American employees.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley and ranking member Richard Durbin have also questioned Amazon, Apple, Deloitte, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Meta, Microsoft, and Walmart, asking them for details on their hiring and recruitment practices as well as any variation in salary and benefits between H-1B visa holders and American employees.
The Senators said their “inquiry” comes at a time when the unemployment rate in America’s tech sector is “well above” the overall jobless rate. According to the Federal Reserve, recent American graduates with STEM degrees now face higher unemployment rates than the general population, they stated.
It is pertinent to mention that Senator Grassley and Senator Durbin have been vocal critics of the H-1B visa programme and have consistently contended that these visas are being abused by many to replace U.S. workers with cheaper labour from overseas.
In fact, just a few days after their missive to the ten companies, the Senators said they are reintroducing bipartisan legislation to “reform and close loopholes” in the H-1B and L-1 visa programs.
The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act targets fraud and abuse in U.S. immigration system, provides protection for American workers and visa holders and enhances transparency in the foreign worker recruitment process, the two argued.
“In evaluating the high unemployment rate for American tech workers, we cannot ignore the massive, ongoing layoffs ordered by you and your peers in Big Tech C-suites over the past few years…At the same time you have been laying off your employees, you have been filing H-1B visa petitions for (thousands of) foreign workers,” the Senators wrote in letters to 10 major employers in the U.S. on September 25, 2025.
They added: “With all of the homegrown American talent relegated to the sidelines, we find it hard to believe that (you) cannot find qualified American tech workers to fill these positions.”
On TCS, the statement noted that the company recently announced plans to lay off over 12,000 employees, including American staff.
“In fiscal year 2025, TCS applied for and received approval to hire 5,505 foreign H1-1B employees. TCS is currently under investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for allegedly firing older American employees in favour of newly hired foreign H-1B visa holders,” it said.
It further said Cognizant Technology Solutions laid off thousands of workers, including employees in the US.
“In fiscal year 2025, Cognizant applied for and received approval to hire 2,493 foreign H-1B employees. In 2024, a federal jury concluded Cognizant favoured South Asian H1-B visa holders over American employees, which warranted punitive damages,” it added.
E-mails sent to TCS and Cognizant for comments by PTI did not elicit a response.
The statement by Grassley and Durbin noted that Amazon laid off tens-of-thousands of employees in recent years, blaming the adoption of generative AI tools. In fiscal year 2025, Amazon applied for and received approval to hire 10,044 foreign H-1B employees.
Google, it said, laid off tens-of-thousands of employees in recent years, including hundreds of workers in its platform and device unit, and 35% of its small team managers “despite enjoying records profits”.
In fiscal year 2025, Google applied for and received approval to hire 4,181 foreign H-1B employees, the statement observed.
According to it, Meta laid off a quarter of its workforce between 2022 and 2023 and labelled it a “year of efficiency”.
“In 2025, Meta laid off 3,600 employees, overshooting its stated goal of laying off another five per cent of its workforce. In fiscal year 2025, Meta applied for and received approval to hire 5,123 foreign H-1B employees,” it said.
Microsoft applied for and received approval to hire 5,189 foreign H-1B employees in fiscal year 2025, as per the statement.
Microsoft laid off 16,000 employees this year alone, despite record revenue and profits, it said adding amid criticism for mass-layoffs, Microsoft characterised its actions as an “enigma of success”.
Published – October 03, 2025 10:49 pm IST
