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.

  • @[email protected]
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    186 days ago

    I seriously don’t understand why, after over 20 years of shoddy outsourcing, anyone would ever greenlight this shit?

    I mean, even from a shareholder’s perspective, unless I want to sell my stocks within the next year or so, I should oppose these stunts. And since most stocks are owned by institutional investors, that are kind of interested in long term growth, this should be a no brainer.

    • @vanderbilt
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      116 days ago

      unless I want to sell my stocks within the next year or so

      Favoring short-term gains over long-term value is exactly why this happens. Labor is often one of the largest cost centers in business, so shaving 10% off could potentially save millions in the short-term. Who cares if those gains eventually get offset or even eclipsed by losses in efficiency or innovation? I can just dump the stock/short it and leave someone else holding the bag.

    • @sudo42
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      86 days ago

      Insert “First Time?” JPEG here

    • @CharlesDarwin
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      26 days ago

      It should be, but there are plenty of perverse incentives, mostly about next quarter’s profits, cashing out, seagull managers, loot and scoot executives, etc…