Tesla has replaced some of its US employees who were let go as part of a big wave of layoffs...

Summary

Tesla replaced many laid-off U.S. workers with foreign H-1B visa holders after a 2024 wave of layoffs affecting 15,000 employees.

These visas, tied to employer sponsorship, often lower compensation and give employers significant leverage over workers.

Critics argue this displaces U.S. employees, as senior engineers were replaced by lower-paid junior engineers.

CEO Elon Musk, while advocating for expanding H-1B visa caps, faces backlash, especially from conservatives, for “job-stealing” concerns.

Musk contends there’s a U.S. skill shortage, but critics highlight potential exploitation tied to Tesla’s demanding work culture and visa dependence.

  • ofcourse
    161·
    5 days ago

    That is definitely a rule that

    • a job must be advertised and,
    • DOL certification attached to every H1B application stating that
      • the foreign worker is needed to be hired due to unavailability of domestic workers
      • the minimum salary at which that job will be filled.

    Additionally, when filing PERM, employers are required to prioritize domestic workers for 6 months after layoffs for the same role. Reference

    But this guy is notorious for finding loopholes and sucking off any dick/teet to skirt the law so here we are.

    This is not unique to Tesla either. With the job market tightening over the last 2-3 years, tech companies have been laying off experienced, higher paid workers (especially who were hired at highly competitive salaries during early pandemic) to replace them with new lower paid ones for the same role.

    The article misrepresents this as a domestic vs foreign workers issue instead of calling out the employer for lying about role responsibilities and exploiting junior employees for doing the same work as was expected from senior employees in the past.