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Walmart denies recent firings linked to H-1B visas, but scandal buzz rages on
Walmart, in a statement to Hindustan Times, said there were some terminations recently, but the case had nothing to do with H-1B visas.
Walmart terminated its contract with one vendor a small number of US-based associates, but the case had nothing to do with H-1B visas, the company confirmed in a statement to Hindustan Times.
“Following an investigation, Walmart recently terminated one vendor and a small number of U.S.-based associates. This investigation had nothing to do with H1B visas,” a spokesperson said.
This came after rumors circulated online that there was a fraud linked to H-1B visas at the American multinational retail corporation, which prompted firings. While these rumors began on Bild, a platform where verified employees can discuss work issues, they were also reported on by CTOL Digital Solutions, a Switzerland-based IT consultancy. While they noted at the time that no verification had come from Walmart, the issue has now been clarified by the company in an official statement.
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However, that has not done much to quell rumors online.
Misinformation about Walmart scandal continues
Despite Walmart's statement to the contrary, talk about the supposed H-1B visa-linked scandal is continuing. US Senator Mike Lee, on X, shared a post which had put up a screenshot of CTOL's report and asked “Is it time to pause H1-B visas?”.
Other X handles too amplified the misinformation about Walmart jobs going to Indians. “A Walmart executive has been fired…”, one post began, while outlining the misinformation. Grok has fact checked many of these claims on X, stating “The claims originate from an unverified article on http://ctol.digital, alleging a Walmart VP took $30K+ daily kickbacks for favoring certain contractors, leading to 1,200 terminations from Caspex. Walmart has denied any H-1B visa connection, stating it's unrelated. No major outlets confirm the details; it's mostly social media rumors. Broader H-1B fraud issues exist in the industry, but not tied here.”
There were initial fears among Indians that this ‘scandal’ would blow back on them. Now, despite there being no H-1B link to the Walmart terminations, as clarified by the company itself, online pushback against the H-1B system appears to continue, using this case as an example.
