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Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

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Re: Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

#111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t necessarily believe this position but not a single one of your points argues against the theory that H1b visas are bad for green card/citizen holders during times of layoffs. It’s a perfectly logical (if not humane given current immigration law) position to hold that companies should be required to lay off visa holders first and for there to be a “cooling off” period between layoffs and hiring of visa holders…

> It’s a perfectly logical (if not humane given current immigration law) position to hold that companies should be required to lay off visa holders first and for there to be a “cooling off” period between layoffs and hiring of visa holders. This is really suboptimal though, what if you have a H1B worker that's a high performer in a key position that would make your company collapse if they left but say, they were bor…

That's really messed up: 1 - the high performer is either writing REALLY bad code, which means he's probably the only coder and no one can replace them because no one can read the code

OR

2 - the high performer is writing the best code that ever existed, which is why you can't replace them. However this is so rare. Most of those people have already migrated to FAANG where you better believe no one is that necessary.

Re: Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

#112

Once you switch to full remote, why not hire from Central and South America at maybe 1/4 the price of a Californian.

We're talking about workers immigrating to the US, not offshoring. Workers immigrating to the US contribute to the US economy.

So do the ones being laid off to reduce the corporation's aggregate salary load.

Re: Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

#113
My company did this as well (global but not a household name in a niche industry).

We've recently started trying to re-hire folks we let go, most of whom make much bigger paychecks at other companies now. Productivity has plummeted. But we saved a lot on payroll for a few months.

Re: Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

#114

There are multiple missing things for this: 1. Layoffs happened regardless of visa status, so visa workers were part of the layoffs. 2. The visa applications for H1B could be for workers already working in the company under a different visa like TN or F1 3. The positions affected by layoffs and positions filing for H1B could be different. For example, a front end position may be affected by layoffs, but the visa appl…

You may have some very good logical arguments, but it looks bad to the average person observing it.

It is the perception that matters.

Re: Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

#115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t necessarily believe this position but not a single one of your points argues against the theory that H1b visas are bad for green card/citizen holders during times of layoffs. It’s a perfectly logical (if not humane given current immigration law) position to hold that companies should be required to lay off visa holders first and for there to be a “cooling off” period between layoffs and hiring of visa holders…

> It’s a perfectly logical (if not humane given current immigration law) position to hold that companies should be required to lay off visa holders first and for there to be a “cooling off” period between layoffs and hiring of visa holders. This is really suboptimal though, what if you have a H1B worker that's a high performer in a key position that would make your company collapse if they left but say, they were bor…

> what if you have a H1B worker that's a high performer in a key position that would make your company collapse if they left

Provide an option for a company to submit some paperwork and pay some non-trivial fee (to avoid gaming) that allows them to exempt such an employee from the visa-first layoff requirement. Additionally, fast track the green card process for whom said exemption is granted.

Re: Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Americans like to think they have a monopoly on skilled programmers. But the reality is that most countries have them and they will do the same work for a fraction of the price. Everything is done over the internet these days so it doesn't matter that much where you are located.

99% of what makes a developer valuable is their skill in communication, not their skill in coding.

This is precisely what the parent commenter doesn't understand. He thinks the job of a programmer is all about technical skills. In fact that is only a part of the job. You need to be able to write, speak, and communicate in fluent English to be effective. And most Indian nationals, Peruvians, Columbians, et al cannot rise to that level.

Re: Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s a perfectly logical (if not humane given current immigration law) position to hold that companies should be required to lay off visa holders first and for there to be a “cooling off” period between layoffs and hiring of visa holders. This is really suboptimal though, what if you have a H1B worker that's a high performer in a key position that would make your company collapse if they left but say, they were bor…

If a company requires Indian nationals to function, then it seems like the best place to incorporate it is in India.

This is a point of view that's new. They already have offices in India why not expand those instead of incorporating?

Re: Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

#119
post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> his is really suboptimal though, what if you have a H1B worker that's a high performer in a key position that would make your company collapse if they left but say, they were born in India, and you're laying off folks in projects that failed / folks that are low-performing. You can offer them a different visa? H1B isn't the ONLY option. It's only being used because it's not a "key" position.

What different visa option are you referring to? Specifically, as noted in the parent comment when referring to workers from India.

If a particular employee leaving would cause Google to collapse that certainly sounds like an extraordinary alien.

Re: Big Tech Resumed Hiring Foreign Workers Just Weeks After Layoffs

#120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t necessarily believe this position but not a single one of your points argues against the theory that H1b visas are bad for green card/citizen holders during times of layoffs. It’s a perfectly logical (if not humane given current immigration law) position to hold that companies should be required to lay off visa holders first and for there to be a “cooling off” period between layoffs and hiring of visa holders…

> It’s a perfectly logical (if not humane given current immigration law) position to hold that companies should be required to lay off visa holders first and for there to be a “cooling off” period between layoffs and hiring of visa holders. Given these folks could be 10+ year long-term Indian residents of the US with approved I-140s waiting for their priority dates to come up, I'd say this would be incredibly inhuman…

Inhumane would be beating the employees. 10 years at Google will open more doors than the applicant could ever go through
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