Posted on 06/12/2015 9:09:58 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Disney ABC Television Group reversed a decision to lay off about 35 tech workers this week, following recent reports that Disney laid off hundreds of tech workers in January after forcing them to train their replacements.
Two weeks ago, Disney ABC told a team of between 30 and 35 application developers they were being laid off, some at the end of July, and that their jobs were going to an IT contractor with large offshore operations, reported Computer World. But on Thursday, Disney ABC told the workers plans had changed and they would not be laid off.
Some of the workers were already in the process of training their replacements in “knowledge transfer” sessions — the same term used to describe how the hundreds of tech workers laid off in January trained their foreign replacements.
Disney ABC refused to confirm or comment on the reversal, but Computer World reports it was confirmed by another Disney ABC source. One of the tech workers who would have been laid off told Computer World the move is related to the recent negative press.
“They [Disney officials], want this to go away — right now,” the worker told Computer World.
The workers were told the foreign work force would take over maintenance and application development, which could allow some of them to fill more interesting positions.
The January Disney layoffs were cast similarly. The workers were told the department’s emphasis was shifting to innovation, and that the foreign workforce would take over the maintenance work. They were encouraged to apply for the new positions opening up.
One of the laid off workers told The Daily Caller News Foundation he was initially optimistic, but a few months into the “knowledge transfer” process, after getting zero responses to his applications for the new positions, he realized the jobs didn’t exist. He knows of just a few people who managed to stay on with Disney.
For its part, Disney says it fired 250 workers, but rehired 120 in some capacity.
Disney ABC’s decision not to lay off the 35 workers also follows news the Department of Labor is investigating Tata and Infosys, two outsourcing firms Southern California Edison used to layoff hundreds of American workers after forcing them to train their replacement.
Slight of hand. We’re not that stupid to fall for it.
If you want to pick nits then fine. Let's assume that Disney still owns the hardware and the software. What is unquestionable is that Disney doesn't have the people on their payroll anymore. They didn't hire the H-1Bs, their vendor did. So saying that Disney fired their people and hired H-1Bs in violation of the law is not accurate. Disney fired the people, true. But their vendor hired the H-1Bs to work on their contract with Disney and that is, unfortunately, not illegal. It probably should be. It certainly violates the spirit if not the letter of the H-1B law. But it is a problem that existed long before Disney took advantage of it and will exist long afterwards, given the love affair that the Congress and most candidates have for H-1Bs.
Why H-1b needs to die, corps cannot be trusted with this kind of power, there is only a fig leaf of oversight.
If I ever lose my mind and decide I want to go to Disneyland....(which god knows won’t happen)...I will not go!!! There!!!
Agreed. But there is, unfortunately, nothing illegal about it and nothing that will force Disney to change their strategy. Even this article is, as an earlier poster pointed out, a temporary respite. As soon as the publicity dies down those IT people will be out the door.
Walt Disney is rolling over in his grave because of the way Iger and his ilk have treated these IT staff members.
We live in So Cal. A couple of weeks ago, my wife suggested we take a Disneyland day as it has been several years since we visited the park. After I told her of this IT purge, she said to forget it, no more Disneyland.
It is a sad commentary on our moral values, the way grossly overpaid corporate executives are treating their employees.
For now. But soon this story will be out of the media and these guys are toast.
It's funny you should say that because I just got a call from a recruiter for Disney IT positions in Glendale, Anaheim and Orlando.
We have a deadly conflict between private property rights and the welfare of the nation.
The Seven Dwarves will be henceforth known as
Singh,Singh,Singh,Singh,Singh,Singh,Singh,
Strangely, their theme song will now be a 50s big band tune.
You wrote: But their vendor hired the H-1Bs to work on their contract with Disney and that is, unfortunately, not illegal... It certainly violates the spirit if not the letter of the H-1B law.
If it violates the letter of the law then it is illegal, is it not? The feds may turn a blind eye to it, but that doesn't make the illegal legal, just unprosecuted.
The bottom line still is that Disney conspired to replace American workers with illegal replacement workers. The replacement works themselves may be here legally, but they being illegally deployed to jobs.
-PJ
the last two are patel’s
Lots cheaper than paying healthcare punishment fees.
I would quite 10 minutes before they expected me to start training my replacement.
quite = quit
Everyone who works at Disney is cheap labor. IT workers who transfer from contractors to permanent employees often have to take a significant pay cut and are told that working for Disney offers benefits in lieu of higher pay, such as free admission to theme parks and discounts on merchandise.
Disney has always been a cut-throat operation. As long as you're making them money, your job is secure. If you're not making them money, they'll dump you in a heartbeat.
They had to pay George Clooney’s fee for tomorrow land somehow.
Why the Chinese of Course!
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Well played!
I think it would be interesting to see the new media suplant Disney. Get a bunch of Youtube people and technology together and make a sort of open source film making industry modeled after a mutual. I am pretty sure that a fairer system would immediately attract very good talent.
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