Senator Prods Microsoft On H-1B Visas After Layoff Plans
CWmike writes “US Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told Microsoft this week that US citizens should get priority over H-1B visa holders as the software vendor moves forward on its plan to cut 5,000 jobs. ‘These work visa programs were never intended to allow a company to retain foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American workers, when that company cuts jobs during an economic downturn,’ Grassley wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The letter asked Microsoft to detail the types of jobs that will be eliminated and how those cuts will affect the company’s H-1B workers.” Reader theodp adds, “On Friday, Microsoft coincidentally announced it would postpone construction of a planned 0 million data center in Grassley’s home state of Iowa, although work on data centers in Chicago and Dublin will continue.”
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