Indian professionals hit by global financial crisis

Indian H-1B visa techies in US may lose jobs in Microsoft

WASHINGTON: Indian IT professionals working for Microsoft Corp in the US could be among those who lose jobs after it announced plans to sack
5,000 employees with the software giant indicating some of the affected would likely be non-Americans amid calls to first target foreigners working on H-1B visas.

The world's biggest software company has been asked by an influential Republican Senator from Iowa Chuck Grassley to first fire foreign workers hired on H-1B visas, a majority of whom are Indians, while implementing the layoff plan and "protect" the jobs of Americans.

An indication that foreigners who also include Indians could be targetted during the layoffs came when a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement said, "We care about all our employees, so we are providing services and support to try to help every affected worker, whether they are US workers or foreign nationals working in this country on a visa."

Senator wants US companies to fire foreign workers first

WASHINGTON: An influential senator has asked US companies to make efforts to fire foreign workers first while making lay-offs during the current
economic downturn - a move that could affect thousands of Indian professionals.

In a letter to Microsoft, which employs thousands of people through the H-1B visa programme, a majority of them Indians, senator Chuck Grassley urged the IT giant to make efforts to retain qualified American workers during its recently announced lay-offs.

Noting that last year, Microsoft had advocated for more H-1B visas in the US Congress, he said the purpose of the H-1B programme for professionals in "specialty occupation" is to help companies hire foreign guest workers on a temporary basis when there is not a sufficient qualified American workforce to meet those needs, he said.

Sack expats first, then locals: Saudi govt to cos

DUBAI: In a move that may affect hundreds of expatriates, including Indians, Saudi Arabia has asked all companies in the kingdom to fire
foreigners first, if they have to layoff staff. “Labour offices are instructing companies to start with foreigners first, if they have to sack staff,” the ‘Saudi Gazette’ quoted Muhammad Al-Hamdan, head of the labour office in the eastern province, as saying.

In fact, Al-Hamdan said that labour office inspectors, working for the ministry of labour, have started investigating companies believed to have sacked Saudi staff, because of the global financial meltdown. “Businesses are not permitted to fire Saudi staff and must retain them by transferring them to other jobs made available within a firm by firing expatriate staff,” he said.