At a Glance

  • Microsoft has become embroiled in controversy over the widespread use of the H-1B visa program in the tech industry. The program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign technical workers for specialized roles. Microsoft recently responded to related criticism, denying that its recent layoffs are linked to the company's reliance on foreign worker visas.
  • In a statement sent to CFO Dive via a spokesperson, Microsoft said: "Our H-1B applications are in no way connected to recent job cuts, partly because employees on H-1B visas also lost their jobs. Over the past 12 months, 78% of our applications were extensions for existing employees, not applications for new workers coming to the U.S."
  • Vice President JD Vance singled out the tech company last week, accusing it of laying off American workers while heavily relying on immigrant labor through the visa program, questioning the economic logic and moral justification of this dual approach. According to Newsweek, Vance said at a bipartisan event on Wednesday: "I don't want companies to lay off 9,000 American workers and then claim, 'We can't find workers in the U.S.'"

In-Depth Analysis

The scrutiny Microsoft faces over its use of the visa program comes as the company announced earlier this month that it would cut approximately 9,000 jobs globally across various teams. This is not the first time the H-1B program has sparked controversy: last December, it triggered heated debates on social media among Trump's core supporters. At that time, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-leads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy publicly supported H-1B visas, while some conservatives, including former South Carolina Governor and former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, opposed hiring workers from outside the U.S.

The H-1B visa program has been a tool for finance and HR leaders in the tech industry to secure top global talent, regardless of location. For example, before the start of the second Trump administration, Intuit CFO Sandeep Aujla, in an interview with CFO Dive, pushed back against protectionist views on the technical labor market. He defended H-1B visas and warned that the U.S. should not move toward isolationism, emphasizing the importance of an open global talent pool.

However, beyond ICE raids on some farms and other employers hiring undocumented workers, by April of this year, the new administration's immigration crackdown appeared to have a chilling effect on prospects for companies obtaining visas for white-collar roles. As CFO Dive previously reported, immigration lawyers said they had begun to see noticeably stricter scrutiny of work authorization.

Last week, new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow signaled more changes. According to a New York Times report on Friday, Edlow said the Trump administration plans to adjust the H-1B visa issuance process. In the report, Edlow argued that the current lottery-based system should be replaced with one that prioritizes companies paying higher wages to foreign workers.