I’m part of sever group that was just cut in half. While we waited for the ax to drop, many of us U.S citizens with more experience applied for dozens of jobs all over the country only to get no response.
The younger less experienced H1B guys on the other hand were all able to line up multiple offers in multiple states so many volunteered for severance. A few mentioned the pay they were offered was significantly less, even in areas with higher cost of living. They didn’t want to risk loosing their work visa though, so they felt compelled to accept a lower paying job. They didn’t want to risk being cut with nothing lined up due to time it takes to get work visa transferred.
Being passed over for a job s---s but I honestly feel bad for the H1Bs as well. They are being taken advantage of as they must work for less (and long hours) or else they risk being deported. Corporate greed s---s for everyone regardless of skin color or country of origin.
The only silver lining in all this was that my team had a lot of volunteers for severance, so most of us without anything else lined up were able to stay. Unfortunately This is only a temporary reprieve. Once the half of us left are done transferring everything we built to China / HXT, we know for certain we will be looking for jobs again. The best we can do now is step in to all the vacant roles and learn anything and everything we can to broaden our skill sets and help our future prospects.