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

New Delhi:

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has slapped a penalty of Rs 2 crore on Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, along with a fine on two chartered accountants for lapses in the audit of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years.

The regulator has fined CA AB Jani Rs 10 lakh and barred him for five years from being appointed as an auditor or internal auditor or from undertaking any audit in respect of financial statements or internal audit of the functions and activities of any company. A fine of Rs 5 lakh has been imposed on CA Rakesh Sharma and the regulator has banned him for three years from being appointed as an auditor.

While Mr Jani was the Engagement Partner (EP), Mr Sharma was the Engagement Quality Control Review (EQCR) Partner for the audit of the company for 2018-19 and 2019- 20.

Why has NFRA fined Deloitte?

The regulator’s action stems from Deloitte’s alleged failure to identify and report irregularities related to a Rs 200 crore fixed deposit held by ZEEL in Yes Bank. 

In 2018, the ZEEL Chairman, who is also the promoter of the Essel Group, issued a letter to Yes Bank, committing Rs 200 crore fixed deposit of ZEEL as a guarantee for the loans given by Yes Bank to a promoter group company Essel Green Mobility Ltd. The bank appropriated the fixed deposit in July 2019 towards the settlement of loan amounts due from seven promoter group companies.

According to NFRA, its examination showed that the auditors were grossly negligent, failed to apply professional scepticism and due diligence, did not adequately challenge the management’s assertions, and failed to evaluate the reporting of suspected fraud. “Neither the creation and maintenance of fixed deposit nor its reappropriation by the bank was with the approval of the board or shareholders of the company. The statutory auditors failed to identify and report this misrepresentation,” the regulator said.

Following this, the regulator issued a show-cause notice to Deloitte and its two auditors. 

After considering their responses, the watchdog found that Deloitte and the two CAs were “guilty of professional misconduct”.

According to Deloitte, they have received the order and are reviewing it.

“We are currently reviewing the order to determine our next course of action,” a Deloitte spokesperson said.

New Delhi:

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has imposed a fine of Rs 2 crore on Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP as well as penalties on two chartered accountants for lapses in the auditing of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years.

Along with slapping a fine of Rs 10 lakh, AB Jani has been barred from taking up any audit work for 5 years, while the fine is Rs 5 lakh on Rakesh Sharma, and the debarment period is 3 years.

AB Jani was the Engagement Partner (EP), and Rakesh Sharma was the Engagement Quality Control Review (EQCR) Partner for the audit of the company for 2018-19 and 2019- 20.

The regulator had suo motu examined the audit file for the statutory audit of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) for the given periods to assess whether the auditor committed any professional misconduct.

After examining the audit file and responses of the audit firm to its queries as well as other records, NFRA said prima facie auditors had not discharged their professional duties under the Companies Act as well as the Standards on Auditing (SA).

In its 30-page order dated December 23, NFRA said auditors failed to meet the relevant requirements of the SAs and violated the Act in respect of certain significant related party transactions.

The watchdog has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 2 crore on Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, apart from penalties on AB Jani and Rakesh Sharma.

Both individuals have been debarred from “being appointed as an auditor or internal auditor or from undertaking any audit in respect of financial statements or internal audit of the functions and activities of any company or body corporate,” for varying periods.

The ban on AB Jani and Rakesh Sharma is for 5 and 3 years, respectively.

A Deloitte spokesperson said it has received the NFRA order against the firm and two retired partners.

“We are currently reviewing the order to determine our next course of action,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

In September 2018, the ZEEL Chairman, who is also the promoter of Essel Group of companies, issued a letter to Yes Bank, committing Rs 200 crore fixed deposit of ZEEL as a guarantee for the loans given by Yes Bank to a promoter group company Essel Green Mobility Ltd.

The bank appropriated the fixed deposit in July 2019 towards the settlement of loan amounts due from seven promoter group companies.

“Neither the creation and maintenance of fixed deposit nor its reappropriation by the bank was with the approval of the board or shareholders of the company. The statutory auditors failed to identify and report this misrepresentation,” the regulator said.

Further, NFRA said its examination showed that the auditors were grossly negligent, failed to apply professional scepticism and due diligence, did not adequately challenge the management’s assertions, and failed to evaluate the reporting of suspected fraud.

This was evident from unauthorised guarantees/securities, premature closure of the fixed deposit by the bank and unauthorised use of ZEEL’s funds for settling the loan of the promoter group companies, with the knowledge of the Chairman of the group and management of ZEEL, the regulator said in the order.

A show cause notice was issued to the audit firm and the two auditors, and after considering their responses, the watchdog found that the audit firm and the two auditors “are guilty of professional misconduct”.

Subsequently, the latest order was passed by it.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

India needs to grow at 8-9% for the next 20 years to become a developed nation by 2047 as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deloitte South Asia CEO Romal Shetty said.

He said India can benefit from the ‘China plus one’ strategy as no other country can offer the scale and size of operations as is available in India.

Referring to the space sector, Mr. Shetty said India already has 200 start-ups and can attract investments of $100 billion by 2040.

“We need to grow at 8-9% till at least 2047 to become a developed economy…. moving away from middle income level… To grow at that pace is not easy. Very few countries in the world have been able to grow at a pace of 8-9% year-on -year,” Mr. Shetty told PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a recent interview to PTI said India will be in the top three economies in the near future. “By 2047, I am sure that our country will be among the developed countries. Our economy will be even more inclusive and innovative,” he had said.

India is currently the fifth largest economy in the world, after the U.S., China, Japan and Germany. An S&P Global report had last month projected India’s economy to double to $6.7 trillion by 2031, from $3.4 trillion currently.

Mr. Shetty also said India can look for opportunities in the agriculture, space sectors, and other sunrise areas such as semi-conductor and electric vehicles. He further said the country is building roads at a ‘frantic pace’ of 16,000-18,000 km a year, which in turn boosts development and trade.

Business Matters | Can India still grab the ‘China Plus One’ opportunity?

“Multinational companies are looking at ‘China plus one’. There is no doubt about that. While there are other countries that will benefit when companies decide to move their manufacturing to somewhere else apart from China, no other country has the scale and size as India has,” Mr. Shetty added.

He said the big challenge that India is facing is import of crude oil. Similarly, even though technology has transformed the country, it can be divisive and there are biases in Artificial Intelligence (AI). “These are things we should be concerned about”.