IT workers were, in the end, lost
November 07, 2013 1:20 PM EST
IT job cuts appear to be in progress at Northeast Utilities in Connecticut, thanks to a move to offshore a significant number of jobs. You may wonder how this happens. Why is it so easy for U.S. companies, even a utility with a captive customer base, to move jobs overseas?
Northeast Utilities, which is now part of Boston-based NStar, is transferring jobs to Infosys and Tata Consultancy. Offshore firms need H-1B workers to complete these job transfers. Infosys brought in H-1B workers to NU in preparation.
Employers are under no obligation, whatsoever, to hire a U.S. worker over an H-1B worker. But there is an exception: Employers with more than 15% of their workforce on a visa are required to try to hire U.S. workers. These employers are labeled “H-1B dependent” by the government. Infosys falls under that category, but there are exceptions to the dependency rule.
H-1B dependent firms that pay at least $60,000 per year in salary, or bring in workers that have a master’s degree in an area related to employment, aren’t obligated to first try to hire a U.S. worker.
More: http://blogs.computerworld.com/it-outsourcing/23098/it-workers-were-end-lost
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