High-tech layoffs cause furor over foreign workers

www.boston.com ^ | 11/25/2001 | Jube Shiver Jr.

[lelio]

Industry officials say they are eager to hire Americans. But they also say that even with this year's layoffs, the number of US workers with technical skills isn't large enough to fill all the job vacancies.
That's cuz companies only want people that have used the XYZZY package that's the current trend. They'll just blindly look for that and reject anyone that doesn't have it.

[poetknowit]

Mabe they need still IT foreign bean-counters to keep up with 100 companies a week going bankrupt. American companies that is. Nobody needs IT to add up 10,000 AMERICAN CITIZEN workers lined up for 50 jobs. Looking around is Informative Technology enough. "W" and the 'let 'em eat cake' whiz kids should open their enduring eyes.

I'll be at the Far Right barricade just past the Unemployment Office. Ask for Z.E. Nophob.

[lelio]

I'll be at the Far Right barricade just past the Unemployment Office.
Take a look at the latest Business Week, there's a photo in there that has men in suits all lined up by a barricade in NYC looking for jobs. Pretty scary.

[Scourge of God]

You know, you are off base here. I was unemployed for ten months (as a technical writer) before finding just about the coolest job on the planet (writing manuals for Xbox games.)

Now, my job requires a mastery of English, writing, and computer concepts, so it's not something just anyone can do. I have 14 years experience, and it took forever to get another job.

Those emigrants should go home. And you should go to school to qualify for a better job.

Loser.

[JoeSchem]

Send your kid to law school. Notice that lawyers have written themselves out of H1B competition. Furthermore, laws are different in every country so that a lawyer trained in India can't come over here and immediately start working. He'd have to go to law school for years and years first of all.

The borders are down, and only the lawyers are going to make money.

[Ready2signup]

Thanks for the web site..have already signed up 12 fellow students. Now if they just allow me to post the petition on the school discussion board.

[LurkedLongEnough]

Have you ever tried to compete for a job against people telecommuting from India

Yep. Did it successfully for about 10 years. Personally, I didn't find it hard at all to compete.
Given the sorry state of our educational system, it's no surprise that companies want Indian programmers. They are multi-lingual and they don't try to push Ebonics or their religion on you.

[EdReform]

You're welcome! Pass the information on...

[lavaroise]

That's just great, US workers denied strategicaly important experience and education. After all, US workers are the grunts fighting for freedom right now. Isn't the WTC proof enough to the industry's WTC that it is not protected by H1B workers but by Americans? At this count American workers are much cheaper than H1Bers.

[eno_]

The company where I work brings people over from India for 6 months then sends them home to "telecommute". This way they can hire 4 or 5 foreign...

Your whole rant kind of begs the question: Why do you work there? If you are good enough, you can get a better job. Stop kvetching and update your resume.