Global technology industry is constantly in a state of flux. Artificial intelligence (AI)-led developments are bringing in significant changes in the operating models of technology companies. Improving efficiency has been prompting several tech giants to lay off thousands of staffers.

According to layoff tracker platform- Layoffs.fyi, around 119,000 staffers have lost their jobs across 219 organisations since the beginning of this year. This figure was more than 100,000 in 2025. Leading tech firms including Oracle, Meta, Cisco, and Google among others laid off thousands of employees in the last two years.

A major chunk of these employees was operating out of the US. Given that US has a substantial number of technology professionals from India, several thousands of them had lost their jobs owing to these mass firings. As the job market in the technology industry remains tight in the US, many of these Indian professionals are not able to get another job immediately in the North American country. Adding to this agony is the strict and unfriendly immigration policy followed by the Trump administration.

Under Trump, the US administration has increased the H1B visa fee, changed the Green Card application rules and discouraged American employees to hire foreign professionals like Indians. Without any way out of the conundrum, many Indian techies are now returning home in their search for new jobs.

According to survey conducted by professional networking platform- Blind, 53 per cent of respondents of the survey said that they had seen colleagues or job candidates return from the US because of visa-related problems. Now, the survey has also found out some interesting dynamics of the current job market. According to it, a significant shift is happening among the US companies as far their management of global workforce is concerned.

It found out that the US companies, which have GCCs (Global Capability Centres) in India, are shifting Indian techies to location back home than replacing them. This step makes immense sense for this US corporations in terms of cost. While Indian techies earn way higher when in US, their salary gets reduced in India, matching a salary of their colleagues here.

This way, US companies are able to reduce cost and retain the same talent. The survey quoted one Google professional saying that the average pay had fallen in recent months with some US-returned Indian techies drawing as low as one-fifth of their US compensation. So, while these professionals get an immediate respite from visa-related concerns, the financial impact is severe.

The survey also found out that 57 per cent of Amazon employees, 58 per cent of Walmart employees and 55 per cent of Uber staffers in India had had seen colleagues return from the US because of visa issues.

However, not all tech professionals in the US are able to get jobs in Indian GCCs of their parent organisations. Many are landing in India without a job and are hunting for opportunities here. The survey pointed out that job market in India remained tight despite India being the largest delivery centre for global firms. Openings in the GCCs are there but are fewer in number than a year before. Situation in the IT services companies and large startups is not great either. As an outcome, these technology professionals have to settle for less paying jobs. Meanwhile, entry of these US-returned professionals is making the Indian job market more competitive in the mid to mid-senior levels. Overall, AI has created a great churn in the technology job market with professionals navigating a tight situation both at home and abroad.