Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has recently announced a second round of mass layoffs, affecting thousands of its employees. Among those most greatly affected are employees working in the US on an H1B visa, who are left with limited time to find alternative employment in the country, otherwise they face deportation.
Kushal Naidu, a program manager at Meta working in Texas, took to LinkedIn to request help in finding a new job which could sponsor his H1B visa. He stated that he had been impacted by the company’s latest round of layoffs and was actively seeking new opportunities in program management, data engineering and data analytics. “I am in the US on a work visa (H1B) and therefore, I need to find a job soon,” Naidu added in his LinkedIn post.
Another employee impacted by the layoffs is Sneha Agarwal, a data specialist who had been with Meta for three years. She also took to LinkedIn to request help in finding new data science & analytics/Analytics Program Manager roles with a company that is willing to sponsor her work visa.
Meta’s latest round of layoffs followed a hiring spree that saw the company expand its workforce since 2020. The cuts brought the company’s headcount back to its mid-2021 levels. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the bulk of the layoffs would take place in three moments over several months, largely finishing in May, with some smaller rounds potentially continuing after that.
The layoffs have left many employees in a difficult position, particularly those on work visas who are now scrambling to find new employment in the US before their visas expire. The uncertainty and instability of the job market has only added to the challenges they face.
Despite the difficulties faced by those impacted by the layoffs, many are turning to their network on LinkedIn in hopes of finding new employment. LinkedIn has a feature that allows job seekers to highlight their H1B visa status, increasing their chances of finding an employer willing to sponsor their visa.
The impact of Meta’s layoffs highlights the challenges faced by foreign workers in the US job market. The H1B visa program has long been criticized for its limitations and complexities, which can leave workers vulnerable to exploitation and uncertainty. The current situation only exacerbates these challenges, leaving many workers anxious about their future in the country. As companies like Meta continue to scale back their workforce, it remains to be seen how the job market will adapt to accommodate those impacted by the layoffs.
