IBM: "The Cost Difference Is Too Great for the Business Not to Look for" H-1B Workers--Good Read

[DaveJ]

12. Like all things, using H-1B workers is alright, in moderation.

It frustrates me seeing big companies behave as though cheap H-1B labor is the solution to all their problems. Not because of the good jobs lost. That frustrates me for other reasons. It frustrates me seeing bad business decisions made my overpaid incompetent executives.

First of all, it is not necessarily cheaper hiring foreign workers, after all the intermediary fees. I guess it depends on how it's done. A big corporation like IBM may be able to bypass the intermediaries.

Second, cheap labor can take longer, and produce low quality work, not because they lack skill, but because communication is not streamlined between the client and the technician.

Third, there is a carrot on a stick phenomenon. This is when anyone offering cheap work will start on a project for cheap. IF the project becomes successful, they start charging more and more. You think it's cheap at first, only to find out they were just getting you hooked on a product.

Fourth, when a company has no dedication to its employees, you can bet the employees are not dedicated to the company either. There is no sense of ownership of work, when it's all about numbers, and finding the next gig that pays a little more.