Unverified reports have hinted at a scandal involving H-1B visa holders working for Walmart, and went on to claim that the Global Tech division’s Vice President was fired over it.
The claims began on Blind – a platform where verified employees can discuss work issues. A person there said a ‘massive fraud’ went down at the American multinational retail corporation. The alleged incident was also reported on by CTOL Digital Solutions, a Switzerland-based IT consultancy. However, they noted the lack of confirmation or verification of the information from Walmart.
Hindustan Times has not been able to verify these claims either, and no official statement has come from Walmart in this regard.
Despite the lack of credible sources, these claims have been amplified on X, by a profile self-labeled as a ‘H-1B whistleblower’. They were echoed in the r/Layoffs Reddit forum as well. The CTOL Digital Solutions report claims that Walmart severed ties with Caspex-sourced contractors over a kickback operation that gave preferential treatment to some contractual agencies within the retailer’s vast ecosystem. However, it is the X account which draws the link with H-1B visa holders.
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Grok, fact checking these claims, said “Based on searches, reports of Walmart terminating ~1,200 contractors linked to Caspex and a VP kickback scandal appear in forums like Blind and Reddit, but remain unconfirmed rumors—no official Walmart statement exists as of Aug 23, 2025.”
Unverified claims spark fear among Indians
Although these claims remain unverified, and unaddressed by Walmart for now, they have sparked fears among Indians. A post on Reddit, on the r/nri forum explains “How the Walmart VP Kickback Scam Will Hurt Indians in the U.S.” While some said in the comments that these kickbacks are ‘very common’, one person admitted that it might ‘sour’ perceptions.
“Yeah people are not blind – it’s completely expected that the West’s mindset would sour over the blatant displays of nepotism that have been going on for the last 50 years,” the Reddit poster commented. “History shows what happens when a community gets branded as scammers — violence always follows,” the original poster remarked. “Time to pack up and build something real rather than living on mercy of others,” commented another.
Walmart, earlier this year, had announced plans to lay off 1500 workers, which was part of its restructuring efforts. Although this had nothing to do with H-1B workers, there was backlash on social media that the layoffs were being orchestrated to replace US workers with H-1B holders.
Meanwhile, reports of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), India’s largest IT services firm, being probed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for discriminatory layoffs, came this year. Bloomberg reported, at the time, complainants had claimed that Indian workers, especially those on H-1B skilled visas were retained, while many from non-South Asian backgrounds were let go.
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