US tech giants are laying off workers en masse while simultaneously importing tens of thousands of foreign workers.
Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are at least cutting jobs. 27,000, 12,000 and 16,000 But over the same roughly three-year period, companies secured a total of at least 61,000 H-1B visas for foreign workers. According to to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (Related article: President Trump's appointment of Silicon Valley advisor slams MAGA supporters against Musk's and Ramaswamy's tech companies)
“Big tech companies are laying off employees and at the same time claiming they don't have enough workers,” Eric Ruark, director of research and public affairs at NumbersUSA, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The H-1B program is specifically designed to allow employers to substitute and replace qualified American workers with cheaper and often less capable foreign guest workers. Masu.”
US H-1B program Companies can hire skilled foreign workers with bachelor's degrees for up to six years, and H-1B holders are entitled to: apply To obtain permanent residence and eventually citizenship.
In theory, the visa isneeds basedHowever, that means it is only provided when there is a clear need that cannot be easily met by the U.S. workforce. US census data Research shows that of the 50 million employed college graduates between the ages of 25 and 64 in 2019 who reported earning a bachelor's degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Only 28% are employed in this occupation. Additionally, in November 2014, study According to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), each additional H-1B visa holder locks out approximately 1.5 other employees at a company, and an increase in the number of H-1B visa holders is associated with an increase in the number of patent approvals. Regardless of the increase in H-1B workers, the innovations suggested by the increase in H-1B workers may not be encouraged.
Taken together, the Census and NBER findings suggest that tech giants are importing talent from overseas not because of a domestic talent shortage, but because of other considerations such as wages and employee retention. may be suggested.
Employers have historically paid H-1B workers well below market wages, according to a 2020 study by the Economic Policy Institute. find In fiscal year 2019, 60% of H-1B jobs certified by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) were paid less than the local median wage for the job. For example, at Amazon and Microsoft, more than three-quarters of H-1B employees were assigned to the companies' two lowest pay levels in fiscal year 2019.
In addition to lower wages, companies often prefer H-1B workers, Ruark said. This is because H-1B workers are often easier to retain. “H-1B workers are attractive not only because of their low wages. H-1B recipients must work for the employer they applied for. You can't walk to a competitor. If you lose your job, you lose your visa.”
H-1B workers have to work This means that you will need to get another H-1B application approved in order to work for another employer. As a result, H-1B workers are less mobile and easier to retain than U.S. workers, which can make them an attractive option for employers.
The visa program has come under fire in the past for allegations of employer abuse, with the DOL opening an investigation into Disney in 2015 after reports the company fired hundreds of technology workers and forced them into labor. It started. train their foreign successors. A former Disney employee was called to testify at trial. said “Disney's situation is not an anomaly,” the court said, adding, “This same abuse of the H-1B program is occurring across the country.”
The Summit, N.J.-based advocacy group for high-tech workers ran a help-seeking ad in 2007 featuring attorney Lawrence Lebowitz of the Pittsburgh-based law firm Dentons Cohen & Grigsby. We have released a video explaining how to do this. People don't respond, and the company ends up claiming there are no eligible Americans.
“Our goal is obviously not to find qualified and interested American workers,” Lebowitz said in the video. “That may sound crazy in a way, but that's what we're trying to do here.”
In addition, three men from India are currently facing He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for filing fraudulent H-1B applications that claimed foreign workers were eligible for specific jobs that didn't actually exist. This case is not unique; in another case, an Indian man set up 13 shell companies to increase his chances of winning the H-1B lottery by making multiple applications for his clients, in exchange for compensation. He is said to have demanded a portion of his future profits. his service.
Indians received over 72% of U.S. H-1B visas in 2022, followed by Chinese nationals at 12.5%. According to To Times of India.
The current H1B skill visa system in the United States is completely free of charge to American companies, primarily large technology companies. We welcome talented foreigners only if they are sponsored by a company. The system then leaves many of these workers legally incapacitated, often for decades. All the while they… https://t.co/RwzFk2kwLz
— Neil Patel (@NeilPatelTDC) December 27, 2024
The debate over H-1B erupted in X last week following comments from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chairs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. voiced sound Their support for the program.
Musk: “There will be a permanent shortage of talented engineering talent'' I wrote Wednesday. “That's the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.”
“The reason why top technology companies often hire foreign-born first-generation engineers rather than 'native' Americans is not because of Americans' innate IQ deficiency (a lazy and incorrect explanation). An important part of it is In the end, it comes down to the keyword 'culture','' says Ramaswamy. added In Thursday's X Post. “For too long, our American culture has worshiped mediocrity over excellence.”
Ramaswamy and Musk faced backlash for their comments, with some critics saying that the H-1B program prioritizes foreign workers over Americans and that Ramaswamy's criticisms of American culture are unfounded. He claimed there was no such thing.
“There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley responded to Ramaswamy in a post on Thursday. “All you have to do is look at the border and see how many people want what we have. We want Americans, not foreign workers. We should invest in it and prioritize it.”
Nicole Shanahan, a former vice presidential aide to Robert F. “I refute any suggestion that this is a driving force.” I wrote X Thursday. “Let’s be real: It’s predatory that technology companies are making huge profits on cheap labor at the expense of Americans’ way of life.
President-elect Donald Trump appeared to express support for H-1B on Saturday. tell New York Post: “I've always loved visas…I've always believed in H-1B. I've used it many times. It's a great program.'' President Trump previously said was against. tell Megyn Kelly said in March 2016, “The H-1B program is not high-skilled or immigrant. They are temporary aliens imported from abroad for the express purpose of replacing American workers at low wages. workers,” he said.
Regarding the debate within the Republican Party over H1-B, Ruark told DCNF, “President Trump is going to have to take sides. Is he going to stand with American workers? Is he the reason he was elected, or are you on the side of Maskuan's “illegal” side? [immigration] bad, legal [immigration] With good intentions, we chose to secure our borders while vastly expanding legal immigration. ”
Amazon, Google and Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment.
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