Microsoft’s rate of net hiring of international employees has increased much faster than that of domestic employees since 2004. The difference in net hiring rates drastically increases as the COVID-19 pandemic, which had ushered in an unprecedented (a favorite word of the pandemic-era lexicon) era of remote work, begins to subside in 2021. The fact that Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, and Meta do not include these figures may indicate that the disparity in their domestic and international net hiring rates is even more stark than Microsoft’s. To further illustrate the point, JPMorgan Chase’s net hiring rates for North America and other regions are shown in Figure 2, demonstrating that the post-pandemic net hiring trends shown in Figure 1 are not limited to the technology industry.
Definitely a combo-piece of both anecdote and figures. But I do want to zero in on the fact that company size by geographic region paints a picture of international expansion with “at home” American layoffs.
Quote Citation: James Van Hout, ““These are Not the Droids You’re Looking for”: Corpo- rate Propaganda Masks Mass Offshoring with Inflated AI Hype”, June 26, 2025, https://www.jimmyvanhout.com/reports/these_are_not_the_droids_youre_looking_for.pdf