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Laid-Off Abbott IT Workers Won't Have To Train Their Replacements (computerworld.com)
dcblogs writes: An angry letter from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) protesting Abbott Labs' IT employee layoff may be having an impact, but not the way the senator wanted. The layoffs are part of plan by Abbott to shift some IT work to India-based Wipro, a major user H-1B visas, and Abbott is proceeding with the cuts despite Durbin's plea "to reconsider this plan and retain these U.S. workers." Abbott put the number of impacted IT employees at "fewer than 150." Durbin's letter has it at 180. But Abbott may be making changes in how the layoffs are conducted. IT employees, who only spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they were initially told they would be training replacements. But Abbott said Friday that the "affected Abbott IT employees are not being asked to train their replacements." The firm's statement appears to confirm the latest employee accounts of what's going on. One worker said the replacement training may be limited to employees who aren't losing their jobs. The training of replacements was a major issue for Durbin. In his letter to the firm, Durbin wrote: "To add insult to injury, the Abbott Labs IT staff who will be laid off will first be forced to train their replacements."
The sheer capacity of a whole nation to harm itself repeatedly in the name of a long debunked economic fantasy is, as always, astounding.
Probably should have organized instead of acting like they unique Libertarian snowflakes like half of the IT staff I've every worked with, who were convinced they were the best and didn't want to be dragged down to the level of their fellow man.
I guess the ones that were the best are now training their replacements.
It's been clear for at least ten years that companies are exploiting a loophole in the H1B law that allows them to outsource to another company which just happens to have foreign employees. In all this time, Senator Durbin and his 534 accomplices have not had the time to fix this loophole. (Also the insanely low salary threshhold.) No one has even proposed anything. But they have time for grandstanding to make it seem that they're trying to help. One can only conclude that they want to keep things the way they are. I wonder why.
COE
While I'm desperately trying to remain as productive as at least 6 Indian employees so I don't get off-shored, I have to admit I'm left with the awkward question "Do I deserve to be part of the 1% (household income $48K) solely on the basis of hereditary privilege?"
I have a feeling we're entering the era of the "Great Equalization". And I have to say, that it absolutely sucks for those who, as part of the developed world, were automatically part of the elite. And if its bad for me, it's going to be terrible for my children.
I just wish I had better moral claim than "I was born rich, so I deserve to remain rich."
Your political system makes it pretty much a requirement for a politician if he wants to compete on a national level that he takes bribes. Either that or he is himself SO rich that the political "career" is more akin to a hobby for him 'cause a rich boy needs some rich boy's toys.
You need money to run for an office. LOTS of it. And the only sensible way to get it is to beg for it from corporations. Who in turn are certainly not going to do this out of the good of their hearts. So what do you expect?
Personally I prefer our system. Here, if you manage to get a modest sum of votes you get your campaigning costs back from tax money. Yes, that costs my money. True.
But at least that way I buy the crook.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The biggest problem with IT workers is that they feel that their work and effort is not being recognized, and their pay and benefits are not being proportional to the effort and intelligence put in.
Unions will not fix that problem, but hinder it, as the top employee will be treated the same as the lazy and/or inadequate employee. As well Unions tend to have a wider agenda and will expand to beyond just your field, and to a wider scope. When it comes to negotiations they will agree on such things such as laying off the few high salary people in order to get twice as many cheaper employees, as they will bring in more money for dues.
Also with a Union shop, you learn to keep your mouth shut for any ideas that may be against the union, otherwise you are in trouble.
I have worked in unioned and non-unioned shops. Unions make sense for blue-collar jobs, because such jobs easily replaceable and are open to abuse towards a persons health and safety.
Government/Teaching jobs also does make sense for Unions because of the fickle nature of elected officials who are in charge, who may want to fire a teacher for failing the Football star so he can't win the big game. Or having the son of a member of the house of representative in detention for abusing an other student.
White-Collar jobs such as IT have much less health and safety concerns, and it is expensive to replace a good IT worker. Also most companies really fail miserably when they try to outsource, and in time they bring back local workers. Also IT workers can often find jobs in less time then blue collar workers.
I was Laid off in 2008, I was able to get an other job rather quickly.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
This is why America needs, and will get, President Trump. Every now and then America needs a savior. It the past it has needed great leaders like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy, and such people have always arrived at just the right time. America once again needs a real leader to give it direction and to show it the way, and that leader is President Trump. He is controversial because he is right. America needs to once again put Americans first, even if this means putting in place economic trade barriers, immigration barriers, and even physical walls. President Trump will lead America to a greatness it hasn't sen since the days of JFK.
Angry letters will change nothing. The senator (lawmaker) simply needs to do their job. You wouldn't even need to end the H-1B program. I think the problem is more the way it is designed to enable slave labor and thus drive the cost of employment down. If H-1B applicants would have more rights, they could demand higher wages. Instead they are kept as slaves that will not only lose their job but also get deported. Making their legal position similar to those that have an illegal immigration status. H-1B simply legalizes illegal immigration for the employer. If H-1Bs had more power, they could and would demand higher wages. How about unionized H-1Bs? Freedom to stay in the US for a guaranteed period of time. And to top it off: Training obligations for the company that requests them.
Or you can simply abandon the H-1B outright.
Btw: Trump loves himself more than anything else. And as a builder he profits from illegal immigrants. Thus he won't do anything about illegal immigration. Simple as that. He has proven that he lies all the time. So we can disregard what comes out of his mouth. Thus we have to look at policies that are likely. And for someone who makes a *lot* of profit from illegal immigrants it would be downright stupid to prevent that from happening. Is Trump stupid?
Set the minimum salary for an H1B visa holder at $150,000/yr and watch this problem solve itself. Have the salary requirement increase annually based on CPI.
H1B visas were supposed to be for highly skilled workers when talent is available locally.
We all know the H1B program is simply to drive down the cost of IT labor.
Trump - are you listening?
Makes perfect sense...
"You're not skilled enough to do this job, so we need you to train this H-1B guy we hired to replace you at half the cost."
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Treating workers like this would be illegal in more developed countries. Why do Americans stand for this kind of treatment?
The American Dream.
Americans dream that they will become the rich company owner who gets to reap the benefits of hiring cheap and selling dear, so they can live in a mansion and play golf all day. And if not them, their children. Or grandchildren. You just have to vote for the right conservative that keeps that dream possible. And pray to a supernatural being so he'll subtly treat you and yours better than others, so it comes true for you and yours at the expense of others.
TL;DR: Utter stupidity
I've heard horror stories about Wipro. Maybe Abbott will get itself in real trouble as a result of this decision. That would be about mot juste.
If these "IT Workers" are software developers, dev ops, or network admins with marketable skills, and are either in a decent metro area or are willing to move, is a layoff any more than a slight inconvenience?
In 2011, I worked for a small software company (around 30 people) and we all knew that the end was coming and that we would all lose our jobs. Management was very open about our condition. Most of the survivors stuck around in hopes that our options would be worth something (they weren't) or that we would at least get severance package (we all got a month).
Within one month, every developer had another job, all more than likely paying more than we were making.
In 2014, I was in a department with 14 developers and we all saw the way the department was heading. All of the developers found another job within six months. The only reason some stuck around was because they were close to the 3 year vesting period. But all could have found something sooner.