FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam Pushes Back On Claims Of Favoring Foreign Workers

India-West News Desk

NEW YORK, NY – For the first time since allegations surfaced last December accusing FedEx of favoring Indian candidates over Americans, FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam has publicly addressed the controversy, insisting that the company operates strictly on merit and within the law.

Speaking to The New York Times, Subramaniam said he firmly believes in legal immigration and described his own rise as proof of what he called the American story.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunities given to me,” Subramaniam told the New York Times. “It’s very much an American story because I think it’s going to be rare for these kinds of stories to happen in other countries. That’s one of the true, great strengths of America.”

Subramaniam, 59, is only the second CEO in FedEx’s history and has spent his entire professional career at the company. He joined FedEx in the early 1990s as a marketing analyst and steadily rose through the ranks before becoming president and CEO in 2022. His journey to the United States began years earlier in India, where he grew up in a middle class household in Trivandrum.

The controversy around Subramaniam and FedEx erupted after a report by The Dallas Express claimed the company received a $2.2 billion federal contract in 2022 and subsequently hired hundreds of foreign workers on H 1B visas. Critics directly blamed Subramaniam, noting that FedEx’s use of the H 1B visa program increased after he took over as CEO. Records show H 1B approvals for FedEx rose from 37 in 2021 to 102 in 2025, even as the company carried out multiple rounds of layoffs.

Subramaniam rejected the narrative that FedEx favors any nationality or uses immigration programs to displace American workers. “From a FedEx point of view, we are a meritocracy,” he said. “We provide opportunities for everybody. I’m one of those examples, but I’m not the only one.”

He also emphasized his support for lawful immigration. “I’m very much a believer in legal immigration, and that’s important,” he told the New York Times.

FedEx, for its part, has pushed back strongly against the allegations. According to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services H 1B Employer Data Hub, Federal Express Corporation filed 436 H 1B petitions in fiscal year 2025 tied to its Memphis, Tennessee operations, with 434 approvals. The company said this figure represents a tiny fraction of its overall workforce.

“Team members on H 1B visas make up less than point zero five percent of our US workforce,” FedEx said in a statement. “In 2025, we sought fewer than 100 H 1B visas for new hires. These trends are consistent with our regular employment patterns.”

The company also stressed that its layoffs were unrelated to its H 1B hiring, countering claims that foreign workers were brought in at the expense of American jobs.