After FedEx scored a $2.24 billion federal contract to handle government deliveries, something unexpected happened.
The company reportedly started cutting hundreds of U.S. jobs while rapidly boosting its hiring of foreign workers on H-1B visas.
Now some are wondering: is this just business as usual or something more?
The contract, awarded in December 2022 by the U.S. Transportation Command, was part of the Next Generation Delivery Service-2 program.
FedEx, alongside two other firms, secured the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity deal, which runs through September 2026 and could extend through 2030, according to reporting from GovCon Wire.
H-1B Hiring Spikes After Contract Win
At the time of the award, FedEx reportedly had around two dozen H-1B workers on file.
In the years that followed, the company reportedly brought on roughly 500 more, according to data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services H-1B data hub.
The biggest increases came in 2024 and 2025, with positions spanning several states, but especially concentrated near FedEx headquarters in Tennessee.
Salary records from an H-1B salary database show FedEx filed for lower-level technical and business roles such as “digital marketing advisor” and “engineering specialist advisor,” often with salaries in the $100,000 to $115,000 range.
Some of these applications listed Texas cities like Plano, where FedEx was simultaneously laying off workers.
Hundreds of U.S. Workers Cut in Same Time Frame
During the same period, FedEx reportedly slashed jobs in multiple states. In Texas alone, the company announced 856 layoffs in Coppell at a warehouse set to shut down by April 2026.
It previously laid off 305 workers in Fort Worth and another 131 in Garland and Plano, according to Texas WARN filings reported by The Dallas Express.
The layoffs weren’t limited to Texas. In Memphis, FedEx said it would lay off 611 workers after an auto parts client moved operations.
Job cuts were also reported in New York, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, based on WARN filings and local media.
FedEx hasn’t publicly tied these layoffs to the federal contract or its H-1B hiring.
Instead, it told The Dallas Express the Coppell closure was due to a customer moving to a new third-party logistics provider.
FedEx: “We Hire the Most Qualified Candidates”
A FedEx spokesperson told The Dallas Express via email: “FedEx is committed to offering employees the opportunity to grow and advance in their careers. Doing so helps our team members thrive, and FedEx prosper. Our strategy is centered around recruiting a skilled workforce that meets our unique business needs and hiring the most qualified candidates.”
Sources within the company reportedly said the surge in H-1B hiring is partly due to FedEx consolidating corporate entities, and that many of the U.S.-based roles that were cut didn’t overlap with H-1B-eligible jobs.
The company added: “Across our business, we employ a wide range of roles, requiring a variety of skillsets and are committed to complying with all applicable federal immigration laws.”
A Brewing Political Flashpoint
FedEx’s hiring and layoff pattern is drawing attention in Washington, where H-1B visas have become a hot-button issue.
Vice President JD Vance recently urged companies to rethink their staffing priorities, saying, “You might try hiring Americans.”
Fran Rhodes, president of the conservative-leaning True Texas Project, called for the H-1B program to be scrapped, writing for Express:
“The program is riddled with fraud and abuse, and puts American workers at a disadvantage, while creating a financial advantage for the companies hiring foreign workers at a lower pay scale.”
Not everyone agrees. Entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy defended the program last Christmas in a post on X, saying, “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence,” and argued that foreign labor is critical to the U.S. economy.
Trump Pushes Costly New Rules, but Sends Mixed Signals
While President Donald Trump has long criticized the H-1B system as unfair to American workers, his policies have taken a more complex turn in 2025.
His administration recently introduced a $100,000 fee on many new H-1B applications and plans to overhaul the system by February 2026 to favor higher-paid, higher-skilled applicants.
A federal judge upheld the fee after business groups sued to block it, according to Reuters.
Still, Trump has also acknowledged the need for skilled immigration in the past.
In a 2020 tweet, he said, “We want to encourage talented and highly skilled people to pursue career options in the U.S.,” directly referencing H-1B holders.
Companies tied to Trump have also used foreign visa programs, including H-1B, for roles like software development.
So far, there’s no clear evidence linking FedEx’s federal contract to its workforce changes.
But with hundreds of American jobs gone and foreign worker numbers up, some are asking whether it’s all just a coincidence.