Microsoft Said It’s ‘Not Related.’ Here’s What I’m Hearing Inside.

15,000 laid off. H-1B scrutiny intensifying. And now a PR response that employees say doesn’t match what’s really happening behind the scenes.

If you’re reading from a corporate IP… welcome.

You already know this landed in Slack… Teams… and even inside DMs across numerous orgs.

Because when Microsoft lays off 15,000 workers, gets called out by a sitting U.S. Senator, and then drops a quote like this…. people notice.

“Our H-1B applications are in no way related to the recent job eliminations… because employees on H-1Bs also lost their roles.”

That’s what a Microsoft spokesperson told CFO Dive this week. After weeks of public scrutiny. After Vice President JD Vance publicly criticized Microsoft for relying on foreign visa labor while laying off thousands of American workers. After the company tried to move past this with a polished executive memo and vague references to growth, CapEx, and "relatively unchanged headcount."

Their defense is…

H-1Bs were impacted too… so none of this is related.

That’s the line they’re running publicly.

But I’ve been hearing from PMs, engineers, directors… and even someone who worked directly with an exec now pushing the “AI layoff coping” PR line.

They’ve shared stories. Off-the-record messages. Firsthand accounts of how these layoffs are really playing out.

And Microsoft execs? I’m being told they’re reading this too. (rumors of that, yes… but 63 & counting from Teams infra)

If you want to know what’s actually happening inside… 👇

And if you haven’t subscribed yet?
You should. Because the stories I’m getting aren’t stopping. And it isn’t just about Microsoft or tech.