This is long overdue. The fact that a large tech company lays 10,000 people off and then immediately turns around and petitions for thousands of H-1B employees is criminal.
Hi, Im not an H1B but as someone who contracted for decades, it was pretty easy to get hired as a contractor after companies laid off. The entire reason I stayed a contractor was because after being an employee and living under constant threat of layoffs, I decided I couldn't live like that anymore. It was my way of taking control.
Contract labor is not booked as headcount so its not just the cost its also how its budgeted and looks to shareholders.
Obviously our industry hasnt cared a whit about what its employees think since at least 2005 when they thought they were going to send all of it elsewhere.
> The fact that a large tech company lays 10,000 people off and then immediately turns around and petitions for thousands of H-1B employees is criminal.
the craziest thing is that this has to come from right-wight politicians. really gives you a sense of how much the left is f'd-up in 2026.
> ...the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take into account in any labor condition application... whether the employer sponsor directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs...
Unfortunately, as a 2nd order effect, I wonder if we'll see fewer layoffs and more outright firing to balance it out.
Sometimes i wonder if the actions of ICE, are a reaction to try and stop immigration because of climate change. Naturally the administration will never say this, but the American west in particular is suffering a water crisis today and recent times seem to indicate today is the new normal. I think its reasonable to guess that the land cant support more people.
The current administration doesn't believe in climate change / global warming, so no. It's just the typical "blame foreigners for your problems" thing that every authoritarian regime all over the world indulges in, and uses to justify nasty stuff. In the last 20 years, for example, it's also been how China justifies stealing stuff from other countries to further their local industries and technological growth (not that there aren't fantastic engineers and scientists in China already).
They know the truth, their public statements are an act. I think its pretty obvious that all public people say one thing and believe or do another in private.
> The current administration doesn't believe in climate change / global warming
Sure they do. None of the Greenland stuff (or most of the Canada stuff) makes sense unless they believe in these things.
We assume that if they believed they would try to slow these things down, but they chose a different path, profiting off the accelerationism.
The claims of not believing are just fodder for the FOX News/OANN watchers and what they say publicly is not what they believe.
In much the same way that David Miscavige doesn't believe in Xenu, I'm pretty positive Donald Trump does believe in global warming, he just doesn't care... or rather only cares insomuch as it is a profit opportunity.
Greenland stuff doesn’t make sense even if they believe into the climate change. The US already has military bases there which are barely used. It’s just plain imperialism.
I’ve been puzzled why climate change messaging seems to ignore the emissions of other large countries like China and India. If USA reduces emissions but others don’t, well we all share the same atmosphere so…
But similar to your angle, I’ve wondered if the climate change messaging is secretly targeted towards resource depletion. If USA switches off oil and oil runs out, who cares if others didn’t switch? But people have a hard time processing “going to run out in 50 years” as a crisis, so instead we get an apocalypse angle, I suppose because humans love the apocalypse (see: various religions).
> I’ve been puzzled why climate change messaging seems to ignore the emissions of other large countries like China and India.
It doesn't. The issue is likely more that you don't see or read widely enough.
Even here on HN you'll see mention of China and India's emissions and use of coal on a regular basis.
The US is a significant mention for two main reasons:-
* of all the human lofted additional CO2 of the past century plus (that sourced from formerly deep underground) the US is the single largest sole country contributor (although China is catching up (but may or may not equal the US)), ...
* the US is still a large per capita contributor today (ignoring tiny tiny outlier countries with small populations and near single export fossil fuel extraction countries) - it has an energy intensive economy.
My personal beef isn't so much with the US but specifically with US based fossil fuel and resource companies of the 1970s onwards (eg: Koch brothers) who were well aware of the problem with increasing the insulation factor of the atmosphere and doubled down anyway - spending large on "think tanks" to promote confusion via media, over sell the appeal of large cars, destroy any and all grass roots campaigns for public transport, etc. (CO2MaXXing ?).
The US has had influence across the planet post WWII, these campaigns just promoted a bad example for profit and deferred early and timely addressing of the issues.
In the 60s/70s they had the world is going into another ice age scare. Based on historical patterns we are in a cooling phase based on Milankovitch cycles. A long slow cooling phase going into another ice age. You can't blame the Koch brothers.
Messaging over here does not ignore that. A big chunk in Australia is about stopping exports of oil and coal, or at the very least taxing the exports more and making it more expensive. You might have to listen to people and organizations actually concerned though, rather than politicians intent on doing the bare minimum to capture the climate vote.
The USA is far wealthier, uses more carbon per-person, and is responsible for more historical emissions than China or India. We have an obligation to reduce our gluttony before asking others to go without.
No. The actions of ICE are a reaction to how much Trump and his base hate brown people. This administration doesn't even believe climate change is real, Trump infamously called it a "Chinese hoax."
A big problem is these political spectrums are not really coherent moral philosophies yet fulfill an individual’s need for that kind of structure. I think anyone would find that “a person in America has a larger carbon footprint than a person almost anywhere else; therefore it’s an ecological imperative to expel whomever we can“ is odious. So we just don’t think about it.
agree, Trump is largely a puppet and easily manipulated, though I'd put more weight on Heritage, Bannon, and Miller, placing Vance closer to the useful idiot group
This is long overdue. The fact that a large tech company lays 10,000 people off and then immediately turns around and petitions for thousands of H-1B employees is criminal.
Hi, Im not an H1B but as someone who contracted for decades, it was pretty easy to get hired as a contractor after companies laid off. The entire reason I stayed a contractor was because after being an employee and living under constant threat of layoffs, I decided I couldn't live like that anymore. It was my way of taking control.
Contract labor is not booked as headcount so its not just the cost its also how its budgeted and looks to shareholders.
Obviously our industry hasnt cared a whit about what its employees think since at least 2005 when they thought they were going to send all of it elsewhere.
> The fact that a large tech company lays 10,000 people off and then immediately turns around and petitions for thousands of H-1B employees is criminal.
the craziest thing is that this has to come from right-wight politicians. really gives you a sense of how much the left is f'd-up in 2026.
The job of a government is to protect its citizens. There is nothing else more important.
> ...the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take into account in any labor condition application... whether the employer sponsor directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs...
Unfortunately, as a 2nd order effect, I wonder if we'll see fewer layoffs and more outright firing to balance it out.
Sometimes i wonder if the actions of ICE, are a reaction to try and stop immigration because of climate change. Naturally the administration will never say this, but the American west in particular is suffering a water crisis today and recent times seem to indicate today is the new normal. I think its reasonable to guess that the land cant support more people.
The current administration doesn't believe in climate change / global warming, so no. It's just the typical "blame foreigners for your problems" thing that every authoritarian regime all over the world indulges in, and uses to justify nasty stuff. In the last 20 years, for example, it's also been how China justifies stealing stuff from other countries to further their local industries and technological growth (not that there aren't fantastic engineers and scientists in China already).
They know the truth, their public statements are an act. I think its pretty obvious that all public people say one thing and believe or do another in private.
> The current administration doesn't believe in climate change / global warming
Sure they do. None of the Greenland stuff (or most of the Canada stuff) makes sense unless they believe in these things.
We assume that if they believed they would try to slow these things down, but they chose a different path, profiting off the accelerationism.
The claims of not believing are just fodder for the FOX News/OANN watchers and what they say publicly is not what they believe.
In much the same way that David Miscavige doesn't believe in Xenu, I'm pretty positive Donald Trump does believe in global warming, he just doesn't care... or rather only cares insomuch as it is a profit opportunity.
Greenland stuff doesn’t make sense even if they believe into the climate change. The US already has military bases there which are barely used. It’s just plain imperialism.
I’ve been puzzled why climate change messaging seems to ignore the emissions of other large countries like China and India. If USA reduces emissions but others don’t, well we all share the same atmosphere so…
But similar to your angle, I’ve wondered if the climate change messaging is secretly targeted towards resource depletion. If USA switches off oil and oil runs out, who cares if others didn’t switch? But people have a hard time processing “going to run out in 50 years” as a crisis, so instead we get an apocalypse angle, I suppose because humans love the apocalypse (see: various religions).
> I’ve been puzzled why climate change messaging seems to ignore the emissions of other large countries like China and India.
It doesn't. The issue is likely more that you don't see or read widely enough.
Even here on HN you'll see mention of China and India's emissions and use of coal on a regular basis.
The US is a significant mention for two main reasons:-
* of all the human lofted additional CO2 of the past century plus (that sourced from formerly deep underground) the US is the single largest sole country contributor (although China is catching up (but may or may not equal the US)), ...
* the US is still a large per capita contributor today (ignoring tiny tiny outlier countries with small populations and near single export fossil fuel extraction countries) - it has an energy intensive economy.
My personal beef isn't so much with the US but specifically with US based fossil fuel and resource companies of the 1970s onwards (eg: Koch brothers) who were well aware of the problem with increasing the insulation factor of the atmosphere and doubled down anyway - spending large on "think tanks" to promote confusion via media, over sell the appeal of large cars, destroy any and all grass roots campaigns for public transport, etc. (CO2MaXXing ?).
The US has had influence across the planet post WWII, these campaigns just promoted a bad example for profit and deferred early and timely addressing of the issues.
In the 60s/70s they had the world is going into another ice age scare. Based on historical patterns we are in a cooling phase based on Milankovitch cycles. A long slow cooling phase going into another ice age. You can't blame the Koch brothers.
> they had the world is going into another ice age scare.
They did, didn't they! Not in the bulk of scientific discussion though, just in media outlets, broadsheets, opinion columns, etc.
It does rather sound like somebody bought into the Koch / Heartland propaganda stream whole heartedly.
Hopefully commenters can bring up "the little ice age" et al. so we can all play denialist talking point bingo.
Messaging over here does not ignore that. A big chunk in Australia is about stopping exports of oil and coal, or at the very least taxing the exports more and making it more expensive. You might have to listen to people and organizations actually concerned though, rather than politicians intent on doing the bare minimum to capture the climate vote.
The USA is far wealthier, uses more carbon per-person, and is responsible for more historical emissions than China or India. We have an obligation to reduce our gluttony before asking others to go without.
China and India have very, very low per capita emissions. They are also the countries working the hardest and fastest at installing renewable energy.
Lol, the Golf courses, Almond plantages and Datacenters would beg to differ. It can't support more peasants maybe
No. The actions of ICE are a reaction to how much Trump and his base hate brown people. This administration doesn't even believe climate change is real, Trump infamously called it a "Chinese hoax."
In the face of such incredulous hate, one must try to find some meaning to try and rationalize it.
A big problem is these political spectrums are not really coherent moral philosophies yet fulfill an individual’s need for that kind of structure. I think anyone would find that “a person in America has a larger carbon footprint than a person almost anywhere else; therefore it’s an ecological imperative to expel whomever we can“ is odious. So we just don’t think about it.
Must apply to existing H1-B holders who got it in the last 5 years or so.
I wonder how the Big Tech co's who kissed the ring are feeling about this.
It's amazing how much of a hypocrite he can be
https://thehill.com/business/5603478-trump-organization-fore...
(Trump org requests record level foreign worker permits, 2025)
Americans had more than 10 years of exposure and still finds him "amazing".
1. did not call him "amazing"
2. we are "amazed" on a nearly daily basis, better not to desensitize, that's what he wants, overton window and such
> 1. did not call him "amazing"
you don't get to police how people talk or feel about other people, duh
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This is not necessarily a personal thing with Trump. If anything I think this might likely be more of a JD Vance thing.
agree, Trump is largely a puppet and easily manipulated, though I'd put more weight on Heritage, Bannon, and Miller, placing Vance closer to the useful idiot group
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