H1-B faces fresh heat as Indian-origin CEO-led Xbox cuts jobs

The H-1B visa programme, already under intense scrutiny following President Donald Trump's federal fraud probe, has come under fresh attack.

This time, the criticism follows Microsoft's announcement of sweeping layoffs, particularly in its Xbox gaming division. It has reignited accusations that American workers are being replaced by a foreign workforce, brought in through the H-1B visa. A Republican lawmaker, reacting to the layoffs at Xbox, called for the H-1B programme to be scrapped entirely. Other commentators have accused Xbox's Indian-origin CEO, Asha Sharma, of deliberately trying to take jobs away from Americans.

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced plans to cut around 4,800 jobs worldwide, which is about 2.1% of its global workforce. The layoffs include roughly 3,200 positions in its Xbox gaming division as part of a broader restructuring aimed at improving profitability after years of heavy investment that failed to deliver the expected returns.

According to a report by news agency Reuters, the Xbox overhaul will see at least four of its gaming studios divested, citing an internal memo circulated by its Indian-origin CEO Asha Sharma, who was appointed to the post in February this year.

REPUBLICAN LEADER CITES XBOX LAYOFFS, CALLS FOR ENDING H-1B

Although Microsoft's latest round of layoffs affects employees across its global workforce, it has not stopped online commentators and some US politicians from alleging that the company is replacing American workers with lower-cost Indian employees hired through the H-1B visa programme.

Note, Microsoft is the sixth-largest beneficiary of H-1B visas, while Indian professionals dominate the visa programme, accounting for more than 70% of all approved H-1B petitions annually and around 72.3% of approved petitions in FY2024.

The criticism stems from a Fox News report citing data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which said Microsoft received approval this year (2026) to employ 2,273 foreign workers under the H-1B visa programme.

The juxtaposition of large-scale layoffs and continued H-1B hiring has fuelled accusations from critics that American workers were being displaced by "cheaper foreign labour", an allegation Microsoft has denied.

Among the most vocal critics is West Virginia Republican Representative and member of the US Congress, Riley Moore, who has called for ending the H-1B programme altogether. Speaking to Fox News, Moore said, "These companies, especially big tech, are abusing these immigration programmes to replace American workers with foreign workers," adding, "It's long past time to end the H-1B scam."

In a separate interview with West Virginia-based local news outlet, MetroNews, Moore described the H-1B programme as "an absolute disaster" for "white-collar, blue-collar, any American worker," arguing that many visa holders occupy jobs "you're sending your kids to college for, your kids to trade school for." He further claimed that, "in many aspects," legal employment-based immigration "is actually worse than the illegal immigration problem" when it comes to American jobs.

Citing Microsoft's restructuring, Moore alleged that "Xbox just laid off 3,200 US workers and then turned around and applied for thousands of H-1B visas to import people from India to do those jobs for pennies on the dollar," before asking, "What in the world are we doing here?"

In a separate post on X, Moore, while accusing Microsoft of trying to replace American workers with Indian counterparts, described the act as "the definition of civilisational suicide, and it needs to stop".

PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA ALLEGE AMERICAN WORKERS BEING REPLACED

The layoffs also triggered a wave of criticism on social media, where several people alleged that American workers were being replaced by lower-cost foreign employees through the H-1B visa programme. Some also argued that Xbox's Indian-origin CEO was deliberately firing American workers from the company to enable an eventual Indian takeover.

"Once a single Indian gets into a position of power, they systematically fire Americans," an individual posted on X, adding, "They are completely taking over all of our most important industries... via hiring discrimination and fraud."

"A great way to fix this is to throw anyone doing this into prison," another individual wrote. "Fire Americans to replace them with thousands of visa workers? Straight to jail, and assets seized. This story has been told countless times. Fire American staff and hire foreigners. Over and over."

Others argued that American jobs were being "systematically replaced," and blamed the Trump Administration for enabling the same.

"We are being systematically replaced by our government," one individual opined in a post on X, adding that "Sharma, CEO of Microsoft Xbox, just laid off 1,600 US workers with 3,200 more US job lay-offs. Soon after the Trump Administration approved 2,273 H1B employer-sponsored positions".

MICROSOFT DENIES ACCUSATIONS, SAYS LAYOFFS ALSO IMPACTS H-1B PROFESSIONALS

Microsoft, however, has not linked its Xbox restructuring to its H-1B hiring. Responding to the criticism, a company spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the layoffs were "based on business needs, not visa status. H-1B employees were also impacted by job eliminations in the US."

In any case, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has cited financial health for the latest round of layoffs. "Our business today is not healthy," said a memo from Sharma, according to a report in the Associated Press. "We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platforms and publishing businesses."

Moore's allegations come as the entire H-1B visa programme comes under fresh scrutiny in the US.

American authorities have launched a sweeping probe into the H-1B visa programme over alleged fraud and links to criminal networks, while Vice President JD Vance recently warned what he described as "foreign fraudsters" accused of exploiting the temporary work visa programme to undercut American workers.

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