Why not remove H-1Bs: Alleged leaked messages show Microsoft workers questioning exit package amid Green Card row
Weeks after Microsoft was named as one of the eight companies facing a Green Card ban pending investigation by the Donald Trump administration, the IT giant announced a voluntary exit package to 60,000 employees across the US, the UK and India. It does not mean that Microsoft is firing 60,000 workers — it means these workers are now eligible to accept packages similar to Microsoft’s standard severance. While the details of the packages are not fully disclosed, the employees have by the end of this year to decide whether they want to take a voluntary exit.A social media post claiming to be an “exclusive Microsoft leak’ revealed internal messages between he management and the employees following the announcement by Amy Coleman. Some employees raised the issue of H-1B and PERM and said that the company should lay off H-1Bs instead of offering a voluntary exit package.“If Microsoft is actively encouraging thousands of employees to leave, how should the public reconcile that with claims that the company needs foreign workers because it cannot find sufficient qualified talent in the United States? How can the company credibly maintain that it has not abused the PERM labor certification process if it is simultaneously trying to reduce its existing workforce while asserting that it needs immigration sponsorship to fill talent shortages? American workers deserve a transparent, evidence-based answer,” one wrote, per the purported screenshot.One pointed out the 31% jump in Microsoft’s net income in FY2026 and asked why the company was reluctant to invest in people.
H-1B and Green Card row of Microsoft
Microsoft does not have an H-1B problem as the H-1B visa program is for temporary workers. The US government suspended Microsoft from sponsoring permanent residency for foreign workers. It does not affect H-1Bs but most often H-1 B holders apply for Green Card and take sponsorship from employers like Microsoft. The administration accused Microsoft of Green Card fraud implying that the company is sponsoring Green Cards for employees who replaced Americans.Microsoft rejected the allegations and said it has a rigorous process to pick people for H-1B and PERM. “Of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80% were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees. These were not to hire new people. The remaining filings for new employees were for individuals already legally in the United States who decided to come work for us, and they equal only 1% of our U.S. workforce. They are not new arrivals to our country,” the company said.“Microsoft only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the rigorous standards of this visa category. We pay our employees some of the highest compensation in the tech sector, and our wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings. We pay our H-1B employees the same as any other employees doing comparable work,” it said.
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