Over a thousand tech companies, including information technology (IT) giants such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, have laid off around two lakh employees in 2022 and 2023 so far. As many of the workers who lost their jobs wrestle with questions such as ‘why me’ and ‘what next’, many Indians in the United States — especially those who migrated with an H1B immigrant visa — have found themselves dealing with a pressing problem. They only have 60 days to find a job before the visa expires, after which they will be deported. This is despite the fact that several of them have already settled into a domestic life in the US, with many even acquiring properties and sending their children to school in the country.
While many of them are desperately searching for alternate opportunities in a bid to wade through the crisis, the IT community is coming together to help their fellow IT folks who have become the victims of the mass layoffs in the US. Members of the community are making help available in multiple ways through multiple sources, especially through social media platforms — if someone shares a list of companies that are actively hiring, some share the contacts of people who are open to giving recommendations and referrals, and some others post about the new programmes one can join to upskill themselves so that they are ready for a new job.
Priya Ranjani Mohan, a management consultant at KPMG International in New Jersey, told TNM that the series of layoffs has been a devastating and a stressful situation for the tech community. “I have been hearing in the news that a lot of employees are being laid off. Even friends of mine, who studied with me and were working in major IT companies, have suddenly lost their jobs,” she said.
As an immigrant who came to the US in 2006, she knows how difficult this situation can be, Priya added. “You have 60 days to find a job or you have to leave the country. Meanwhile, these people have made big investments in these countries. They come to the US, spend a lot of money on tuition and college fees, etc. And when you are hired at the end of the day, you think you have made it. But then, suddenly you get fired,” she said.
As a way to tackle the situation, Priya has prepared a layoff guide by pooling resources that will help employees with the rehiring process. The list also contains the contacts of people with the right resources. “I know how stressful this situation can be. I experienced it when my father was on an H1B visa. That’s what prompted me to do this,” she said.
“We, as a society, have to uplift each other. If an opportunity exists and we don’t let people know about it, that just fuels more uncertainty. Especially in these days, when we have the capability to democratise opportunities and have a bigger voice because of the internet, it is everybody’s responsibility to let others know about the alternatives that are out there,” Priya said.
She further stated that if the employees cannot find a job within the stipulated period of time, there are also other creative ways to stay in the US, from joining in a non-profit organisation to enrolling themselves in a new masters or doctoral programme. The employees can also ask companies to negotiate their end dates, she added.
Besides creating a web platform listing job opportunities for the benefit of people who have been laid off while in other countries, the Telangana Information Technology Association (TITA) is also providing psychological and legal help as per requirement.
“We are sharing job opportunities through WhatsApp and other social media groups. In addition, we have also created a separate application containing a database of people who need jobs. The list will also have details about their primary skill sets, and this would be shared with companies that are looking for potential candidates. So far, around 300 people have been rehired via this process during the recession period,” TITA founder-president Sandeep Makthala told TNM. Apart from this, TITA is also providing upskilling programmes of five or seven-day durations for free.
Sandeep pointed out that due to the sudden layoffs, a lot of people were panicking. “So we are providing them with personality development classes and psychological support, including one-on-one interactive sessions, by roping in experts from the field to help them think in a solution-oriented way,” he said.
TITA is also connecting the IT employees in the US with attorneys, in order to help them with the legal process on how to deal with the companies in case of injustices. “Many employees who have only been in the field for two or three years might be confused about the H1B process or how to deal with the company, etc. So we are connecting them with attorneys who can help them,” Sandeep said.
He also pointed out a technicality that the employees who have been laid off will get a grace period of two months, only after which the countdown of 60 days will begin. “So technically, they would get four months to look for another job,” he said.