Opponents of job outsourcing are making a holiday-season appeal to President Trump: Stop U.S. companies from forcing American workers to train the very same cheaper foreign laborers who will soon replace them.
Why it matters: Trump promised voters he’d end abuses of worker visa programs and save U.S. jobs — but as he campaigns for re-election, advocates say he hasn’t done enough.
Driving the news: AT&T is poised to send thousands into the new year hunting for new jobs after assigning them to train their own foreign replacements, according to conversations with current and former workers and documents obtained by Axios.
- Many have worked for the company for over a decade. They aren’t being offered severance or early retirement, and may not easily find a comparable job elsewhere with similar pay.
What they’re saying: Sara Blackwell, a Florida-based lawyer who represents Americans displaced by workers on visas or overseas, told Axios: “American workers are tired of waiting for President Trump to do something on this issue.”
- “They’ve gone from great hope in President Trump’s administration, to great discouragement.”
- She sent letters to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas.), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, as AT&T is headquartered in Dallas.
- She also met this month to discuss the problem with White House officials.
- The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Details: Despite receiving a $3 billion tax cut last year, AT&T announced new and expanded alliances with big outsourcing companies to replace workers with foreign or cheaper domestic talent.
- Like many major U.S. companies, AT&T has been shifting jobs for years now — but 2019 was especially noteworthy, as workers claimed that as many as 3,000 finance jobs were being outsourced to Accenture. AT&T denied the 3,000 figure, but declined to provide Axios with its own number.
- AT&T also signed multi-year deals with IBM, Tech Mahindra and Amdocs this year. Accenture, IBM and Tech Mahindra were in the top 10 companies to request H-1B high-skilled worker visas this year.
- “We are continuously working to be more efficient in our operations,” AT&T’s Jim Kimberly told Axios. When possible, AT&T is “helping employees find other positions within the company,” he said.
Current and former Department of Homeland Security officials who spoke to Axios expressed frustration that more isn’t being done to keep foreign worker visa programs from undercutting U.S. workers.
- Lawmakers have signaled bipartisan support for reforms to high-skilled immigrant visas that could help.
- For years now, the Trump administration has talked about policy changes such as ending work authorization for the spouses of certain H-1B visa holders. But the proposal prompted outrage from tech giants, and it has yet to be finalized.
By the numbers: There are few comprehensive studies and little agreement on the scope of the phenomenon, experts told Axios, because contracts and outsourcing processes are typically kept quiet.