IT outsourcing firm Cognizant has received 52k H1B visas since 2009, more than any other American company. Almost all went to Indians. In October a federal jury ruled the company had intentionally discriminated against more than 2,000 non-Indian employees employed from 2013-22.
American employees were replaced by cheaper Indian H1Bs more willing to relocate. Labor costs drove hiring, not skills. Fewer than 20 percent of H1Bs Cognizant sponsored since 2020 hold a masters degree or higher. IT companies use the visas to fill lower level roles.
In 2015 Cognizant executives panicked when a bill in Congress aimed to prevent companies with more than 50% of its workforce on H1B visas from receiving more. The former head of US recruitment at Cognizant says “the entire business model is built off cheap Indian labor.”
A former executive alleges that he was asked to sign hundreds of official H1B applications for assignments under him that did not exist. He claims he was fired after filing an internal complaint alleging discrimination against non-South Indian employees.
Insiders allege Cognizant keeps a reserve of H1B workers abroad and gives them preferred assignments in the US. Corporate prefers transferring workers from India to hiring an Americans. American workers train them and are terminated shortly thereafter.
In the past five years, the five largest IT outsourcing companies have all settled, lost, or are currently fighting similar discrimination lawsuits. Plaintiffs stand to win hundreds of millions of dollars. These are the “skilled workers” companies sponsor under the H1B program.
IT outsourcing firm Cognizant has received 52k H1B visas since 2009, more than any other American company. Almost all went to Indians. In October a federal jury ruled the company had intentionally discriminated against more than 2,000 non-Indian employees employed from 2013-22.
American employees were replaced by cheaper Indian H1Bs more willing to relocate. Labor costs drove hiring, not skills. Fewer than 20 percent of H1Bs Cognizant sponsored since 2020 hold a masters degree or higher. IT companies use the visas to fill lower level roles.
In 2015 Cognizant executives panicked when a bill in Congress aimed to prevent companies with more than 50% of its workforce on H1B visas from receiving more. The former head of US recruitment at Cognizant says “the entire business model is built off cheap Indian labor.”
A former executive alleges that he was asked to sign hundreds of official H1B applications for assignments under him that did not exist. He claims he was fired after filing an internal complaint alleging discrimination against non-South Indian employees.
Insiders allege Cognizant keeps a reserve of H1B workers abroad and gives them preferred assignments in the US. Corporate prefers transferring workers from India to hiring an Americans. American workers train them and are terminated shortly thereafter.
In the past five years, the five largest IT outsourcing companies have all settled, lost, or are currently fighting similar discrimination lawsuits. Plaintiffs stand to win hundreds of millions of dollars. These are the “skilled workers” companies sponsor under the H1B program.
Telegram has become more interventionist over time, and has steadily increased its efforts to shut down these accounts. But this has also meant that the company has also engaged with lawmakers more generally, although it maintains that it doesn’t do so willingly. For instance, in September 2021, Telegram reportedly blocked a chat bot in support of (Putin critic) Alexei Navalny during Russia’s most recent parliamentary elections. Pavel Durov was quoted at the time saying that the company was obliged to follow a “legitimate” law of the land. He added that as Apple and Google both follow the law, to violate it would give both platforms a reason to boot the messenger from its stores. Telegram boasts 500 million users, who share information individually and in groups in relative security. But Telegram's use as a one-way broadcast channel — which followers can join but not reply to — means content from inauthentic accounts can easily reach large, captive and eager audiences. Russians and Ukrainians are both prolific users of Telegram. They rely on the app for channels that act as newsfeeds, group chats (both public and private), and one-to-one communication. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Telegram has remained an important lifeline for both Russians and Ukrainians, as a way of staying aware of the latest news and keeping in touch with loved ones. Markets continued to grapple with the economic and corporate earnings implications relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “We have a ton of uncertainty right now,” said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors. “We’re dealing with a war, we’re dealing with inflation. We don’t know what it means to earnings.” The regulator took order for the search and seizure operation from Judge Purushottam B Jadhav, Sebi Special Judge / Additional Sessions Judge.
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