Microsoft responds to H-1B visa conspiracy theories about layoffs

Microsoft's communications chief has stepped in to shut down a claim spreading online that the company fired American workers only to replace them with H-1B visa holders. Frank X. Shaw, who leads communications at Microsoft, posted a point-by-point rebuttal after the theory picked up steam in the days following the company's July 6 announcement that it was cutting 4,800 jobs, roughly 2.1% of its global workforce, with the Xbox division absorbing the heaviest blow."Lots of bad information out there—let's clear it up," Shaw wrote. His central argument: the workforce changes were made because the Xbox business is struggling, not because Microsoft wanted cheaper foreign labour. "Recent workforce changes were made to restructure the XBOX business because it is not healthy. They were not made to replace employees with foreign workers," he said.