US tech layoffs: India workers face painful exit from the US

Layoffs across the tech industry, including at companies like Twitter, Meta and Amazon, have hit a significant number of Indians working in the US who have visas like the H-1B. California-based journalist Savita Patel speaks to workers who face the prospect of returning to India if they can’t find another job.

Surbhi Gupta, an Indian engineer who has been working in the US since 2009, was surprised to be fired from Meta this month. “I was good at work,” she says.

On Nov. 9, Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced it would cut 13% of its workforce — the first mass layoffs in company history, resulting in 11,000 employees losing their jobs.

“None of us slept that night,” says Ms. Gupta. “I got the email at 6am. I couldn’t access my computer or the office gym. It felt like a breakup.”

Mrs. Gupta should be a familiar face to the Indians. As the winner of the 2018 Miss Bharat California pageant, she was last seen on the Netflix show Indian Matchmaking.

Now she is among thousands of educated and skilled immigrants fired from US tech companies this month.

Most of them work in the US because of the HI-B visa. It’s a nonimmigrant visa that allows companies to employ foreigners for up to six years in positions they couldn’t find American employees for.

It also allows holders to apply for permanent residency in the US and buy real estate in the country.

Ms Gupta says she worked very hard “for over 15 years” to build a life in the US.

Her visa now depends on finding her next job.

More than 120,000 tech workers worldwide have lost their jobs due to cuts by US tech companies, according to website Layoffs.fyi, which tracks tech job cuts.

While companies haven’t released India-specific numbers, San Jose-based immigration attorney Swati Khandelwa says “it hurt the Indian community particularly badly.”

“We saw an increase in consultation calls,” she says. “Everyone is concerned, even those who have not yet been released fear it may be the case [fired] later.”

For Indian tech workers, the layoffs mean not only finding a new job, but also finding employers willing to help them continue their jobs and pay the associated legal costs.

“If a new employer can’t transfer your visa application within 60 days, the remedy is for people to leave [the US] and return to work after completing the paperwork,” says Ms Khandelwal.

“But the practical aspect is that people get stuck in India as there aren’t many visa stamping appointments in the consulates,” she says.

Waiting times for visa appointments at US consulates in India have reached 800 days in some cases.

For this reason, the layoffs come as an unwelcome surprise for Indian workers.

Sowmya Iyer, lead product designer at ridesharing app Lyft, says she was part of a team that “took steps internally to preserve the financial health of the company.”

But Ms Iyer found herself among hundreds laid off at the company this month. “We didn’t expect it to hit us,” she says.

The mass layoffs feel like a “tech pandemic,” she explains. “Both my friend and his wife lost their jobs on the same day.

Ms Iyer says she has student loans to pay back and did not tell her parents at home in the western Indian state of Gujarat about her layoff.

In the US with an O-1 visa – granted to those with “extraordinary ability and achievement” – Ms Iyer says she is confident of finding work.

Her CV lists degrees from prestigious design schools in India and the US, and the O-1 visa allows her to stay 60 days after her job ends.

The American WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act provides a buffer before the 60-day visa period begins. WARN requires employers to give affected workers 60 days’ notice during mass layoffs.

“To secure my status here and to help me find an employer, my previous employers gave me one month’s notice, so I currently have three months,” she says.

But for many Indians, even 90 days is a tight schedule and have turned their plans upside down. Many have families to support, others have thousands of dollars in loans to pay back.

Naman Kapoor had borrowed money to pay for his master’s program at New York University.

After several rounds of interviews, he was hired by Meta as an engineer, only to be fired seven weeks later. “I received the cancellation email at 8am [local time] on November 9th,” he says.

“The whole idea is that a US education involves work experience,” he says. “It is very expensive to study in New York. I worked to make a living.”

Mr. Kapoor is in the United States on an F-1 (OPT) visa that allows him only 90 days of unemployment while in the country.

“Meta offered me four months’ salary as a severance payment,” explains Mr. Kapoor. “But I only have three months in which to find my next job or go back!”

Finding a new job in this environment will be difficult, says Ms. Gupta. “It’s almost December – hiring will be slow because of the holidays.”

After the layoffs, Ms Khandelwal says a community has formed to support people in crisis. Colleagues and employers have shared information online and offered referrals for prospects.

“I created Zeno, [a platform] to help affected[workers]find jobs,” says Abhishek Gutgutia, a Bay Area technician. “15,000 visits have been recorded so far.”

Mr. Gutgutia says his LinkedIn post on Zeno has nearly 600,000 views. “Approximately 100 candidates, 25 companies and 30 mentors have registered. Several immigration lawyers have also volunteered [their services].”

Vidya Srinivasan, a Meta contributor, says she has experienced a “heartwarming outpouring of support from Meta colleagues” in her efforts to put together a “Meta Alumni Guide” for those whose lives have changed overnight. Her online posts have been seen by over a million people, she says.

Amidst such hopes, Indian migrant workers hold their breath until they land their next job.

“I’m tired of being tested,” says Ms. Gupta. “How much stronger should I be?”.