Walmart is laying off 1,500 employees, primarily from its corporate offices in Bentonville, Arkansas, and other locations, including members of its global technology team, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
The move is part of the retail giant’s effort to cut costs and streamline decision-making.
While the company has not publicly detailed the departments affected, insiders suggest the layoffs disproportionately impact tech-related roles — a sector long linked with the controversial H1B visa program.
The layoffs have reignited a long-running debate about H1B visa holders — particularly Indian tech workers — and their impact on American jobs. On social media, several users accused Walmart of favoring foreign labor over U.S. citizens.
“The layoffs are from its technology team… the kind of US worker who’s replaced by H1B,” posted Barbara Grant on X (formerly Twitter).
“There should be strict rules—no citizen is laid off until all visa workers are let go,” another user argued.
A comment on TheLayoff.com claimed walking into Walmart’s tech campus felt like “stepping out of an airport in India.”
Some users pushed back against the anti-H1B sentiment:
“Stop hating H1B people… the issue is outsourcing, not visa holders,” said one commenter, though the post received heavy downvotes.
Others pointed out that Indians were also among those laid off, showing that the issue is broader than just visa status.
The H1B program is meant to fill skill gaps in the U.S. workforce with foreign talent, with Indians making up the largest group of H1B holders, especially in IT and tech roles. However, critics argue it’s increasingly being used to replace American workers or offshore jobs to India.
Walmart has not commented on the visa-related allegations or the exact nature of the layoffs. As the discussion grows louder, the incident underscores a broader tension in the U.S. over job security, immigration, and corporate outsourcing practices.
