One of Trump’s key campaign promises has been to get employers to hire American, whether voluntarily or by making immigration harder via executive order. That’s put one major tech company in particular under the microscope. But is Trump making a Silicon Valley company accused of immigration fraud change its ways? Or is it yet another coincidence?
The company in question is Infosys, one of the most popular outsourcing companies for IT jobs. Rather than found a dedicated IT department to handle operations, companies will hire Infosys. That makes the India-based company, with over 200,000 employees, one of the biggest consumers of H1-B visas in the US. It’s also made it the target of several scandals: In 2011, an American employee accused it of using employees in the country on visitor visas for H1-B work. That led to a grand jury probe and ultimately a $34 million settlement where Infosys denied any wrongdoing.
In light of Trump’s decided distaste for H1-B visas, and immigration in general, then, the fact that Infosys has announced it’ll be hiring 10,000 American employees by 2020, and even training people for the jobs needed if necessary, has turned heads. And it’s left some wondering if Trump’s rhetoric, even if it isn’t backed by legal weight, might be changing their tune.
Infosys, for its part, says that the program’s been in the works for more than two years and that it’s a response to rising demand for more expertise, not just lower costs. And it also notes that it has no plans to stop bringing in H1-B workers; it’s simply expanding so quickly in the US, and demand is shifting so quickly, it needs to hire more Americans. But, if this is the case, that certainly hasn’t stopped Trump from claiming victory before. And, of course, there’s the question of whether this will really happen; after all, hiring requirements, and entire industries, can shift suddenly. Only one thing is certain; Infosys won’t be the last company to find its actions under scrutiny.