Kamal Ghorui
Internet personality Mike Cernovich questions how many H-1Bs Oracle has after the IT company announced a layoff of 30,000 employees across the world.
IT firm Oracle announced a brutal layoff impacting 30,000 employees across the world in a 6am email on March 31. Informing the employees that March 31 was their last working day, the email said the elimination of the role was a part of a broader organizational change. The major layoff raised the crucial question of ‘offshoring,’ and many on social media asked the number of H-1B visa holders Oracle has. H-1B is a specialty visa program for hiring foreign workers with specific qualifications, but this program emerged as the most controversial one as companies are accused of abusing the visa program to hire foreigners at lower wages and firing Americans. Indian-origin US doctor Pradheep J Shanker weighed in on the Oracle layoff discussion and said he thinks the H-1B discussion on social media is biased but he thinks every single H-1B should be sent back before a company starts laying off Americans. He was replying to right-wing media personality Mike Cernovich who asked: “How many H-1Bs does Oracle have?”“I think the H1 discussion hasn’t been totally fair or honest, but I absolutely agree every single H1 should be sent back before you start laying off Americans. At the very least no more H1 applications for a while,” Shanker wrote. Oracle India too announced a layoff of 12,000 employees in India. Indian American Advocacy Council co-founder Sidharth disagreed with the narrative that Oracle laid off Americans because of H-1Bs and said when layoffs happen in departments, it affects both Americans and visa holders. “I understand the emotion but that won’t work. When there’s a layoff it affects both Americans and visa holders in that specific department. Can’t fire an H1b Software engineer coz the American HR got fired,” Sidharth wrote. To Cernovich’s question, many pointed out that Oracle America sponsors around 2000-3000 H-1B visa holders. And it could not be blamed solely for the firing of 30,000 people worldwide. “So an h1 director needs to be sent off because they are laying off an intern,” one wrote to Dr Shanker. “Firing H1Bs alongside Americans would just lead to the whole job function being shipped to India, China and other countries. There’s already documented evidence: the more unreasonable roadblocks you put on H1Bs, the more tech jobs get offshored. How does that actually help the American economy or American workers?” another wrote.
