Big Tech Trades American Jobs For Foreign Workers
In a startling revelation, leading tech giants including Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have reportedly enlisted low-cost foreign labor weeks after thousands of American employees were shown the door.
Earlier this year, Google, the Alphabet-owned tech juggernaut, left a staggering 12,000 employees jobless. Soon after, the company filed applications for low-wage foreign specialists to step in and fill highly technical roles, as investigative journalist Lee Fang noted. As a result, positions such as software engineers, analytical consultants, and user experience researchers were filled by foreign talent.
Simultaneously, Google-owned Waymo, a self-driving car company, received the green light for its H-1B visa applications, further expanding its engineering workforce with foreign employees. According to Fang’s report, these overseas workers are set to begin their roles by August 17.
The trend isn’t unique to Google. Other industry leaders like Meta, Amazon, Salesforce, and Microsoft are following suit, filing for more H-1B applications. Such visas, primarily used by tech industry professionals, have been a contentious issue in the immigration debate, with critics arguing they are leveraged to undercut American citizens and legal permanent residents.
A 2017 National Bureau of Economic Research study highlighted that wages for U.S. computer scientists would have been 2.6% to 5.1% higher in the absence of immigration. In addition, U.S. workers’ employment in the same field would have been 6.1% to 10.8% higher.
The significant increase in visa applications, which rose 61% from last year to 780,884, is raising eyebrows. Critics argue that some companies are gaming the system for an unfair advantage. As a result, tech firms are pushing for an expansion in the number of H-1B visas issued, hiring lobbyists to pressure lawmakers and the Biden administration, Fang states.
The situation is problematic, particularly for the American tech workforce, which has witnessed over 168,000 job cuts this year alone. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who had penned a letter in January announcing layoffs due to “economic reality,” is now seeking foreign, low-cost labor for the very roles left vacant.
These layoffs aren’t due to overhiring or economic struggles but are a strategic move to replace high-cost American labor with low-cost foreign workers.
Fang’s report illustrates an unsettling trend where American workers are being replaced by foreign labor. This revelation is not just a matter of corporate ethics but a grim reminder of how big tech’s pursuit of profit may be compromising the livelihoods of American workers.
