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.

  • ChlkDstTtr@lemmy.world
    401·
    5 days ago

    While there are obvious benefits to bringing skilled workers into the US, people are divided on the issue because those workers are often paid less than US workers, putting negative pressure on compensation, especially in the tech industry, on top of the moral questions about holding visas over the heads of foreign workers.

    This is a good summary of H-1B issues. I don’t think they’re bad in principle since bringing in talent is great for the economy, but in practice they can be abused and push down wages of American workers.

    • NobodyElse@sh.itjust.works
      29·
      5 days ago

      Which all comes from the temporary and restrictive nature of the visa. They’re tied to a specific employer and must leave the country if their employment with that company ends (or set up another visa with another company in a very short time).

      If these people represent deficiencies in our country’s skill set, then we should be welcoming them with open arms not locking them into an exploitative indentured servitude.

      Of course, removing the strong tie to a specific sponsoring employer would let them leave the company for more competitive pay and work environment, which makes the whole thing less appealing to companies. It’s also at odds with the idea of the visa serving to bring in extraordinary talent not available in the country. Needing extraordinary talent and skimping on pay don’t exactly go hand in hand.

    • takeda@lemm.eeEnglish
      9·
      5 days ago

      I think H1B should be reformed. We should still have set limit, but instead of picking people randomly to grant visas, the employers should have a bidding war and only grant visas for the employees that will receive the highest compensation. This will once again promote experts and also ensures they will be paid their true worth.

      Also the window to be able to find another job should be extended, to allow them to switch if they get exploited.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      5 days ago

      This is a good summary of H-1B issues. I don’t think they’re bad in principle since bringing in talent is great for the economy, but in practice they can be abused and push down wages of American workers.

      A fairly obvious workaround to the obvious problem inherent in the scam that is H-1B is to kill H-1B dead and work towards enabling people to emigrate here as permanent citizens and fill in this supposed need companies cry about.

      Since the entire “problem” is mostly bullshit, that’s not what the moneyed interests are trying to do here. They want to break the back of the American engineer.