Southern California Edison IT workers 'beyond furious' over H-1B replacements

[Steinlight]

Information technology workers at Southern California Edison (SCE) are being laid off and replaced by workers from India. Some employees are training their H-1B visa holding replacements, and many have already lost their jobs.
The employees are upset and say they can't understand how H-1B guest workers can be used to replace them.

The IT organization's "transition effort" is expected to result in about 400 layoffs, with "another 100 or so employees leaving voluntarily," SCE said in a statement. The "transition," which began in August, will be completed by the end of March, the company said.

"They are bringing in people with a couple of years' experience to replace us and then we have to train them," said one longtime IT worker. "It's demoralizing and in a way I kind of felt betrayed by the company."

SCE, Southern California's largest utility, has confirmed the layoffs and the hiring of Infosys, based in Bangalore, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Mumbai. They are two of the largest users of H-1B visas.

The utility has a large IT department. In 2012, before any layoffs, it had about 1,800 employees, plus an additional 1,500 contract workers.

Computerworld interviewed, separately, four affected SCE IT employees. They agreed to talk on the condition that their names not be used.

The IT employees at SCE are "beyond furious," said a second IT worker.

The H-1B program "was supposed to be for projects and jobs that American workers could not fill," this worker said. "But we're doing our job. It's not like they are bringing in these guys for new positions that nobody can fill.

"Not one of these jobs being filled by India was a job that an Edison employee wasn't already performing," he said.

Southern California Edison IT workers beyond furious over H-1B replacements Computerworld

 

[DigitalDrifter]

Oh well, that's progress.

 

[Steinlight]

Oh well, that's progress.

Yea, how can you oppose this, you a communist or something?

They are just doing jobs Americans won't do for half of what they do it now. Deal with it bigots.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

You can thank Obama for that.

 

[bucs90]

Wow. The world is changing. Its a race to see who is willing to work the most for the least in return.

 

[Penelope]

You can thank Obama for that.

No its not Obamas fault, its a long time in the making.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Oh well, that's progress.

its also pretty fucked.....im glad i dont have to use those people ...they are expensive too....

 

[TheOldSchool]

Well h1-b is how America is clinging to tech dominance despite our shitty math and science scores. Do away with it at your own peril cons.

 

[Steinlight]

Well h1-b is how America is clinging to tech dominance despite our shitty math and science scores. Do away with it at your own peril cons.

Agreed. How could the ECONOMY ever get by without tech companies replacing obsolete American workers with these brilliant indian workers. Obsolete meaning they don't want to work for half the price.

 

[TheOldSchool]

 

[theHawk]

There are always a lot of unhappy people in IT, I've been in it for almost 15 years now. There isn't much information in the article about what kind of actual work these workers are doing. I'm curious about what level of expertise is being replaced.

 

[Steinlight]

LOL, the "american scientific establishment would collapse" without cheap IT workers from India, yea that isn't absurd hyperbole at all. Do you actually take this guy seriously?

For a liberal the claims to care about working people, you don't care about American tech workers being displaced by lower wage immigrants. So you put obscene profits before good jobs and decent wages for Americans? That is progress I guess?

Also, the idea America has a STEM shortage that needs to be filled by H1B immigration is a lie perpetuated by dishonest billionaires and greedy/unethical tech CEOs.

In total, more than 11 million employees who’ve graduated with STEM-related degrees have chosen to work in occupations that do not require training in math, science, engineering or technology. Were there an actual shortage of labor for STEM jobs, it’s highly unlikely that figure would be so high. To compete for workers to fill STEM jobs, employers would bid up wages and offer such employees other incentives to work for their companies. But that’s not been the case.

Another Look at the STEM Crisis in America The Fiscal Times

 

[williepete]

"Change we can believe in!"
"Yes we can!"
"Fundamentally changing the United States of America."

Same song. Different day. Same BS. This is what you voted for.

.

 

[peach174]

I heard this on the news about 3 hours ago.
They said it is breaking the law to do this and are looking into it.

You can thank Obama for that.

No its not Obamas fault, its a long time in the making.

Yes it is and it looks like Grassley' concerns last year were right.
Obama H-1B reform plan draws Grassley s ire Computerworld

President Barack Obama plans to make the H-1B system "more efficient" through executive action, a move that's drawing negative reaction from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).

Grassley is in line to be chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee if Republicans take control of the Senate after next month's mid-term elections.

Grassley wants Obama to focus on protecting U.S. workers, and says firms should be required to attest that they aren't displacing or replacing U.S. workers with foreign workers. H-1B visa-using companies aren't required to first offer a job to a U.S. worker.

 

[Disir]

It's about damn time somebody started paying attention to the H1B visas and the fact there is no STEM shortage.