Outrage over Oracles thousands of H-1B requests amid layoffs

As thousands of Oracle employees awoke on Tuesday to an email informing them they were being laid off, the workers likely didn’t know the tech company had been busy trying to hire foreign staff. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, Oracle filed for roughly 3,126 petitions to employ H-1B workers in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. Employers must submit the paperwork when seeking to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations like technology. Some 436 of those petitions were filed this year alone. Amazon, which in January said it would axe 16,000 corporate employees, has filed for some 2,675 H-1B petitions during the same two-year fiscal period. That came on top of news in October that the retail giant was axing 14,000 corporate workers. News of Oracle’s attempts to bring in foreign workers sparked outrage among some on social media. One user on the app Blind, an anonymous forum for verified employees, 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 user wrote. Another commenter posted on the site: “Look at all big tech companies, they do massive layoffs then rehire at lower salary.” A third added: “Transnational corporations are disloyal to the American state and the nation.” Neither Oracle nor Amazon replied to requests for comment. Companies submit H-1B petitions seeking permission from the U.S. government to hire foreign workers because they can’t find local candidates with comparable skills. Firms have said the program is essential in the race to develop cutting-edge technology, while critics say the program places American workers at a disadvantage. Companies may also need to submit petitions to renew or extend current H-1B visas. The backlash this week came after the company, chaired by billionaire Larry Ellison, informed “thousands” of workers across the world that Tuesday would 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 email viewed by Business Insider stated. The terminated employees were told they would be “eligible to receive a severance package subject to the terms and conditions of the severance plan.” H-1B visas were the subject of an uproar in September after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that imposed a $100,000 per year fee on some H-1B visa holders. The program is heavily used in Silicon Valley and the sudden news sent companies that rely on the workers scrambling. Oracle’s mass layoffs come as US tech employment had its worst start to the year since 2023, with AI blamed for tens of thousands of brutal job cuts. The first three months of 2026 saw 52,050 tech layoffs — a 40% jump from the same period last year, executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in a report published Thursday, with artificial intelligence increasingly being blamed for the cuts. Meta said in March it was planning sweeping layoffs — with 20% of its workforce, or about 15,000 employees, on the chopping block, according to Reuters. The Oracle Headquarters on April 24, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Getty Images Larry Ellison introduces the Oracle Database In-Memory during a launch event in 2014. REUTERS The Oracle Headquarters on April 24, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Getty Images