Microsoft has pushed back amid a flurry of racist conspiracy theories targeting its gaming empire and Indian-origin CEO Asha Sharma. The backlash started soon after the Big Tech firm outlined its huge layoff plans earlier this week, with a majority of the company-wide 4,800 job cuts corresponding to the Xbox division (3,200). Social media trolls and even Republican lawmakers have long doubled down on calls to scrap the H-1B program — linking layoffs to thousands of visa applications filed by tech giants.
Notably, all these developments surrounding the popular US gaming company have emerged even as the Federal Reserve tapped its CEO to serve on a task force on “Productivity and Jobs” alongside Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen and Stanford University economics professor Charles I. Jones. Sharma had previously faced vitriolic comments and racist backlash when she succeeded Phil Spencer as Xbox CEO a few months ago.
Microsoft responds to H-1B controversy
Considering the heat directed at Asha Sharma, Frank X Shaw, Microsoft’s lead of communications, fired back at the criticism in a social media post on Friday.
In a bid to clear up “lots of bad information out there,” he first addressed the controversial theory that Microsoft’s major workforce reduction coincided with a rise in work visa filings for high-skilled talent from overseas. Microsoft insisted beforehand that roles were “not being replaced by AI.”
However, the company’s decision to cut 2.1% of its workforce, including 1,600 Xbox jobs on Monday and an additional 1,600 cuts throughout fiscal year 2027, fuelled arguments that US employees were being traded for foreign workers. The issue escalated as reports citing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data revealed that the Satya Nadella-led firm had already received approval earlier this year to hire 2,273 foreign H-1B visa-holding employees.
Refuting those theories, including ones reported by Fox News, Microsoft’s communications lead wrote on X, “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.”
“The H-1B figures being referenced are Microsoft-wide visa renewals and new hire applications. They are not specific to XBOX and represent a small percentage of Microsoft’s overall workforce,” he continued, adding, “the majority of roles impacted were not American roles.”
Shaw even boasted Microsoft’s gaming division’s position (XBOX) as “the largest employer of American workers in the gaming industry and the largest American gaming company.”
Similarly addressing the layoffs and employer-sponsored visa controversy, a Microsoft spokesperson also told Newsweek, “These decisions are based on business need, not visa status. H-1B employees were also impacted by job eliminations in the U.S.”
Microsoft defends Xbox CEO Asha Sharma
Upon the retirement of longtime Xbox chief Phil Spencer in February, Microsoft disclosed that Asha Sharma would take on the leadership role. Within hours of the announcement, social media was rife with hate-filled comments and severe criticism directed at the Indian-origin tech veteran.
Some social media users openly accused Microsoft of what they called “Indian nepotism,” as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discussed the change in leadership in a company blog post. Numerous critics have since continued to question Sharma’s lack of gaming background. Most of those comments often referred to the Xbox CEO as an “Indian woman” with “zero experience gaming.”
Succinctly snapping back at anger directed at Sharma, Microsoft’s Frank X Shaw added in his X post on Friday: “And Asha is an American born, raised, and educated CEO, from Wisconsin.”
The outrage against her, however, continues to grow, especially with data surrounding Microsoft’s H-1B approvals resurfacing on social media after the devastating layoffs announcement, which Sharma credited as a “reset” for the company losing out on profits.
In recent years, the non-immigrant H-1B visa category has been dominated by Indian nationals, who have secured over 70% of overall ‘specialty occupations’ visa approvals. The far-right, including the Donald Trump administration, has repeatedly accused companies of taking advantage of the work visa program by replacing Americans with “cheap” foreign labour.
Even after Shaw’s tweet this week, users continued to charge at him with their biased notions, targeting the Xbox CEO.
“Let’s clear even more up,” commented one such user. “Zero experience in gaming, an Indian woman was appointed CEO in an area she had no experience in by an Indian at a higher level and decided to lay off thousands of Americans and she’s replacing them with H1b Indian scammers. Happy to explain, a**hole.”
Shaw simply responded with sarcasm to the person, saying, “Do go on.”
Similarly, another user resorted to profanities in the comments section, and fumed about Asha Sharma, “F**k you. And she’s not American.” Shaw replied sardonically, “Go Navy beat Army,” alluding to the commenter’s self-proclaimed identity as an ‘Army Veteran,’ as stated in his X bio.
Shaw’s SNS post seeking to clear the air has done little to contain the situation; Sharma’s appointment to the Federal Reserve’s jobs task force has only fanned the fire, with some users accusing the central bank of “incentivizing” mass layoffs of American employees.
In other news, the Donald Trump administration recently took a major formal step in reiterating its stance that American jobs ought to go to American workers. Earlier this week, US Vice President JD Vance announced that the Department of Labor was launching a crucial probe into alleged H-1B visa fraud. The agency subsequently initiated dozens of subpoenas and investigations into “foreign fraudsters” trying “to take advantage of the H-1B visa program.”
“Big corporations and fraudsters overseas are using this program to undercut the wages of American workers. If you are trying to take advantage of that visa program, you are not allowed into the United States,” he added at an event in Milwaukee on July 8