Microsoft cut some H-1B workers but will hire more

Microsoft Corp. is letting H-1B workers go as part of its plan to lay off about 5,000 employees over 18 months, but the vendor will continue to hire visa holders as well, according to a letter that it sent to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) last week.

In the letter, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith told Grassley -- a vocal critic of the H-1B program -- that company officials "do not expect to see a significant change in the proportion of H-1B employees in our workforce following the job reductions." Smith didn't disclose the percentage of H-1B workers at Microsoft, saying only that it is "small."

He also said that it's "too early to know the precise answers" to questions such as how many visa holders and U.S. citizens will lose their jobs in the layoffs. But he noted that most of the 1,400 employees laid off in January were U.S. citizens, in keeping with the makeup of Microsoft's workforce.