A Reddit post by a self-identified former Amazon software engineer has sparked fresh debate over layoffs in Big Tech and the treatment of U.S. workers amid continued reliance on H-1B visa holders.
The post, shared on the subreddit r/AmericanTechWorkers, claimed that during two rounds of layoffs, only American employees on the author’s team were let go. According to the post, the engineer was part of an eight-person senior development team with similar tenure levels. Three employees were laid off in the most recent round, and the author said all three were U.S. citizens. The same pattern allegedly occurred during a previous round of cuts.
“As a result, my org has zero Americans now after two layoffs,” the post stated. The author questioned why companies are allowed to lay off American workers while retaining employees on H-1B visas, while continuing to argue that such visas are necessary to fill talent gaps.
READ: Amazon set for new job cuts next week in major workforce shake-up (
The original post was reportedly removed by moderators from the r/amazonemployees subreddit, though screenshots and archived versions continue to circulate. The claims have not been independently verified, and Amazon has not publicly commented on the specific allegations.
As the post continued to circulate, another user reshared the same screenshot, noting that multiple Redditors have been doing the same across different forums.
One person reposting the claim wrote, “Americans should be able to sue a company if they lay you off before visa holders. Visas are suppose to only be used if they can’t find Americans for the jobs. Disgusting practices by Amazon.” The comments that followed reflected similar frustrations and personal experiences.
One user commented, “I worked at a startup in Austin from 1998-2000. At some point one of the genius execs decided to fire the US SW engineers and outsourced to an Indian firm. I don’t think we ever sold another system afterwards and the company was bought out the next year for pennies.”
Another commenter added, “my current company is hiring offshoring workers to the Philippines and we are in sales consulting. After concerns were raised she gave a speech ‘what difference are the shores of India or
Palestine vs the shores of a different state.’ i’m not joking these people HATE our country,” underscoring how the discussion quickly expanded beyond one company to broader anxieties about outsourcing, offshoring, and the future of American tech jobs.
Another commented, “Happened to my husband as well. Laid off in October – half his team. All Americans. Not sure if he had any H1-B on the team, but the outsourced their new AI program integration to another country.”
Some users are even calling to boycott Amazon. As one wrote, “This is wrong Amazon This is wrong ‼️💥might be time to boycott Amazon for American Workers being replaced with foreigners”
READ: Amazon cuts 16,000 more jobs, bringing total layoffs to 30,000 (
These confessions began circulating online after Amazon confirmed on Wednesday that it has cut about 16,000 corporate jobs, bringing total layoffs to roughly 30,000 since October 2025, and signaled that more reductions could still be ahead.
The latest round follows reporting by Reuters last week that the company was preparing additional cuts as part of CEO Andy Jassy’s broader push to streamline operations, trim bureaucracy, and move away from businesses that are not meeting performance expectations.
Amazon also said on Tuesday that it will shut down its remaining physical Fresh grocery stores and Go markets, effectively ending years of attempts to make those formats work. The company also said it is discontinuing Amazon One, its palm scanning biometric payment system, another high-profile experiment it has decided to walk away from.