Outrage over Oracles thousands of H-1B requests amid layoffs | Latest Tech News
As thousands of Oracle workers awoke on Tuesday to an e mail informing them they had been being laid off, the employees doubtless didn’t know the tech company had been busy attempting to rent overseas workers.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, Oracle filed for roughly 3,126 petitions to make use of H-1B staff in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. Employers must submit the paperwork when searching for to rent overseas staff in specialty occupations like technology. Some 436 of those petitions had been filed this yr alone.
Amazon, which in January said it might axe 16,000 company workers, has filed for some 2,675 H-1B petitions during the same two-year fiscal period. That got here on top of news in October that the retail giant was axing 14,000 company staff.
The Oracle Headquarters on April 24, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Getty Images
News of Oracle’s makes an attempt to convey in overseas staff sparked outrage among some on social media.
One person on the app Blind, an nameless discussion board for verified workers, called the H-1B petitions a “slap in our face.”
“If this doesn’t make you angry, maybe you need to read some heartfelt posts on LinkedIn from Oracle employees who are US citizens and have been laid off after working at Oracle for years,” the person wrote.
Another commenter posted on the positioning: “Look at all big tech companies, they do massive layoffs then rehire at lower salary.”
Larry Ellison introduces the Oracle Database In-Memory during a launch event in 2014. REUTERS
A 3rd added: “Transnational corporations are disloyal to the American state and the nation.”
Neither Oracle nor Amazon replied to requests for remark.
Companies submit H-1B petitions searching for permission from the U.S. authorities to rent overseas staff because they will’t discover local candidates with comparable abilities. Firms have said this system is crucial in the race to develop cutting-edge technology, while critics say this system locations American staff at a drawback.
Companies could also need to submit petitions to renew or prolong current H-1B visas.
The backlash this week got here after the company, chaired by billionaire Larry Ellison, informed “thousands” of staff across the world that Tuesday can be their last day.
“After careful consideration of Oracle’s current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organizational change,” copies of the e-mail seen by Business Insider acknowledged.
The terminated workers had been told they might be “eligible to receive a severance package subject to the terms and conditions of the severance plan.”
The Oracle Headquarters on April 24, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Getty Images
H-1B visas had been the subject of an uproar in September after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that imposed a $100,000 per yr price on some H-1B visa holders. The program is closely used in Silicon Valley and the sudden news despatched firms that rely on the employees scrambling.
Oracle’s mass layoffs come as US tech employment had its worst start to the yr since 2023, with AI blamed for tens of thousands of brutal job cuts.
The first three months of 2026 noticed 52,050 tech layoffs — a 40% leap from the same period last yr, government teaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in a report printed Thursday, with artificial intelligence more and more being blamed for the cuts.
Meta said in March it was planning sweeping layoffs — with 20% of its workforce, or about 15,000 workers, on the chopping block, according to GWN.
Stay informed with the latest in tech! Our web site is your trusted source for breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, gadget launches, software program updates, cybersecurity, and digital innovation.
For recent insights, professional coverage, and trending tech updates, go to us repeatedly by clicking right here.
