Walmart layoff: US netizens accuse CTO Suresh Kumar of replacing Americans with H1-B users

Walmart's decision to lay off nearly 1,500 employees has ignited a firestorm on social media in the US. Many users, including MAGA supporters, are accusing the retail giant of replacing American workers with foreign employees on H-1B visas. On X, several users specifically targeted Walmart's Indian-origin CTO, Suresh Kumar. There is, however, no evidence to support these claims.

Kumar was appointed the company's CTO in May 2019. The IIT Madras graduate and former Google executive brought over 25 years of technology leadership experience coming from Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM, Walmart had stated.

"Corporate executives of Walmart are making millions of dollars by depriving you of the ability to compete for their jobs in America by importing nonimmigrant workers on visas like the H-1B. How does that make you feel?" wrote X user Virgil Bierschwale (@VBierschwale) in a now-viral post. Another user, Ody (@odysseus02), questioned, "Walmart laid off 1500 tech workers last week. I wonder how many of them were H1B?" with @OmniWoon replying, "I wonder how many of them will be replaced by H-1B." X user @ExtinguishEvil further alleged, "Over 40 percent of Walmart’s IT department is comprised of H-1B visas born in foreign countries. All jobs that could have gone to American citizens."

Walmart announced the layoff of about 1,500 employees in the US as part of its overall reshaping with the aim of simplifying operations, minimising expenses, and hastening in-house decision-making. The decision was communicated to the staff on May 21 and will impact various aspects of the business, such as global technology operations, e-commerce order fulfilment management, and Walmart Connect, the firm's advertising business, not just the global tech unit often linked to H-1B hires, the Wall Street Journal said.

A memo from Kumar and Walmart US CEO John Furner, reviewed by Bloomberg, stated the job cuts are part of a long-term operational strategy, not a move to bring in foreign workers.