Thousands of employees at some of the world’s biggest and most sought-after companies have been laid off recently.
This has raised concerns over job stability and job security as well as left hundreds of people, particularly Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who relocated abroad for these jobs, stranded.
Many NRIs have been laid off at tech giants and others, leaving them unemployed and without a sponsor. In order to find new jobs, many of them must leave the US.
The H1-B visa is sponsored by the employer for Indian techies in the US. If no job is found within 60 days of their termination due to the recent layoffs, such employees will be deported.
Indian techies’ chances of staying back in the US are extremely slim, according to Bhavna Udernani, CEO of Adhaan, an HR services company. Due to the 60-day grace period for H1-B visa holders before they find new employment, she says, “we anticipate the migration of several laid off Indian tech professionals from the US.” Since there are currently 7 lakh green card applicants waiting in line for their visas, it will be extremely difficult to find a new company to sponsor their VISA and execute the necessary paperwork at such short notice.”
Several of these professionals had very lucrative jobs and would expect the same wherever they go, according to Sanjay Shetty, the Director of Professional Search and Selection at Randstad.
According to him, Indian professionals in the US made some of the highest salaries in the country.
In order to maintain their living standards, Udernani expects that these professionals will relocate to developed economies such as Canada, Europe, or Singapore rather than returning to India.
“The majority of NRIs who have lost their jobs in the US would not want to return to India because they left for better pay, a better lifestyle, and a better standard of living. Consequently, Adhaan’s CEO pointed out that they are more inclined to relocate to other developed nations like Singapore, Canada, etc.
NRI techies can still find jobs on the Indian job market despite this. The Managing Director of CIEL HR Services, Aditya Narayan, says these professionals might not get similar salaries in India as they did in the US, but they may have a competitive advantage.
For those who have no option but to return to India, Indian tech firms will welcome them with open arms. They have a competitive edge after gaining experience working at leading tech firms. While the pay might not be the same in India as it is in the US, the cost of living in India is also not the same as in the US, so it is not much of a disadvantage.”
It also means that Indian job markets will become more competitive, Shetty points out. According to him, even in a young and densely populated country like India, the job market is going to be extremely competitive with the influx of new professionals.
In India, NRI techies may have a shot in sectors such as Big Data, Cloud, and AI/ML.
Data analytics, data visualisation, data science, full stack development, and cloud and DevOps can be bridged by them, says Shetty.
It is projected that there will be a strong demand for data analytics, data visualisation, data science, full stack development, cloud computing, and DevOps. Indian IT and tech will grow exponentially as internet penetration increases and 5G technology becomes available, creating a large number of employment opportunities.”
Freelancing and consulting seem to be viable options for incoming NRIs. Narayan said they can even work as freelancers or consultants for tech startups and SMEs.
“NRI’s skills will help scale up Indian sectors and verticals such as AI/ML, Big Data, which are still in their infancy,” Udernani said.
Whether it was in 2001 or 2008, recessions in the US economy helped India’s market expansion. According to her, the country will have more consulting positions and new businesses.”
