Companies lay off thousands, then demand immigration reform for new labor By BYRON YORK | SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 AT 1:23 PM
"On Tuesday, the chief human resources officers of more than 100 large corporations sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging quick passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
The officials represent companies with a vast array of business interests: General Electric, The Walt Disney Company, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, McDonald's Corporation, The Wendy's Company, Coca-Cola, The Cheesecake Factory, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon Communications, Hewlett-Packard, General Mills, and many more. All want to see increases in immigration levels for low-skill as well as high-skill workers, in addition to a path to citizenship for the millions of immigrants currently in the U.S. illegally.
A new immigration law, the corporate officers say, "would be a long overdue step toward aligning our nation's immigration policies with its workforce needs at all skill levels to ensure U.S. global competitiveness." The officials cite a publication of their trade group, the HR Policy Association, which calls for immigration reform to "address the reality that there is a global war for talent." The way for the United States to win that war for talent, they say, is more immigration.
Of course, the U.S. unemployment rate is at 7.3 percent, with millions of American workers at all skill levels out of work, and millions more so discouraged that they have left the work force altogether. In addition, at the same time the corporate officers seek higher numbers of immigrants, both low-skill and high-skill, many of their companies are laying off thousands of workers.
For example, Hewlett-Packard, whose Executive Vice President for Human Resources Tracy Keogh signed the letter, laid off 29,000 employees in 2012. In August of this year, Cisco Systems, whose Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Kathleen Weslock signed the letter, announced plans to lay off 4,000 — in addition to 8,000 cut in the last two years. United Technologies, whose Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Organization Elizabeth B. Amato signed the letter, announced layoffs of 3,000 this year. American Express, whose Chief Human Resources Officer L. Kevin Cox signed the letter, cut 5,400 jobs this year. Procter & Gamble, whose Chief Human Resources Officer Mark F. Biegger signed the letter, announced plans to cut 5,700 jobs in 2012.
Those are just a few of the layoffs at companies whose officials signed the letter. A few more: T-Mobile announced 2,250 layoffs in 2012. Archer-Daniels-Midland laid off 1,200. Texas Instruments, nearly 2,000. Cigna, 1,300. Verizon sought to cut 1,700 jobs by buyouts and layoffs. Marriott announced "hundreds" of layoffs this year. International Paper has closed plants and laid off dozens. And General Mills, in what the Minneapolis Star-Tribune called a "rare mass layoff," laid off 850 people last year. . . . "
The immigrants desired by corporate American have the advantages of being cheap and desperate, working at wages that will be subsidized by Americans, thereby suppressing job opportunities and salary. In the name of political correctness and moral equivalence, they will be used to replace traditional American values.
Quote: Sanguine wrote in post #2I had heard that this would happen.
It's been happening for quite a while, at least since the 1990's in the STEM fields.
Flooding the country with STEM guest workers accelerated in anticipation of the infamous Y2K 'bug'. There was no shortage of IT workers then, nor is there one now. In fact, IIRC in 2001 more H-1B's were brought into the US than new high tech jobs created. This is all part of the process of global harmonization.
Many are not aware that part of the so-called 'free trade' agreements that emulated NAFTA is a provision that over rides US immigration law and brings in a specified number of 'guest workers' with no consideration given to the employment situation in the U.S.
As a result both opportunities and salaries in STEM fields, including high tech have decreased for Americans. Far from bringing in the brightest and the best, we usually bring in the mundane and ordinary.
CS starting salaries DOWN Sept 2013 http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/CSWagesDropping.txt Updated with:Oops, looks like I have my own innumeracy problem. :-) The 0.005% figure I stated in my posting earlier today should be either 0.005 or 0.5%. But it's still minuscule, certainly not indicative of a labor shortage.
Incidentally the US had no problem bringing in the brightest and the best prior to H-1B, J-1, OPT, etc visas. For that there was an H visa. It was a dual visa guest worker / green card that required what was once full green card screening regarding health, subversive tendencies, education, and experience. Once one passed all the screening, one had to wait for an opening in the US.