Layoffs within WDI

[rteetz]

We? Not sure how much money you have made and spent at WDW, but hopefully we all spend disposable income on what makes the most sense/value for us. Trying to blend in company policy changes an individual prefers, isn't as simple as "you should just spend less money" IMO-and other changes could occur even less desirable, or compounding the issues.

You don't have to agree with me but if guest spending goes down I can garuantee changes will be made. One big thing Disney executives look at and like is when guest spending is up.

 

[jade1]

You don't have to agree with me but if guest spending goes down I can garuantee changes will be made. One big thing Disney executives look at and like is when guest spending is up.

I agree it "could" help where you want it to.

You don't have to agree with me, that when spending is down-others things might get cut/changed instead of what you prefer (like expansions). Why not outsource even further for example?

Careful what you wish others would do with actual hard earned money IMO.

 

[Keyser]

To be more precise, it was alleged that Disney laid off employees who were American citizens and replaced them with people brought into the USA with H1B temporary worker visas. The scandalous part of the allegation was that in order to have the H1B visas issued, Disney had to certify that (a) they could not find any US citizens to fill the jobs, and (b) that the foreigner workers brought in would be paid the exact same wages and benefits as Americans would be paid for doing the same job. The first part was apparently false because Americans were laid off to make room for the foreign workers and were even induced to train them to do the job "exactly the same" as their predecessors had been doing the job. Whether (b) was true or false is a matter of speculation but you can infer that the foreigners are being paid substantially less than their American predecessors because why else would Disney go to the trouble and up-front expense of importing the foreign workers unless they will realize big savings in the long run?

Nobody begrudges the foreigners for wanting to move to the USA and get a good job and a good salary ... but if the allegations are true then Disney management committed what would be a very serious federal crime (large scale organized immigration fraud) if anyone who wasn't a large and powerful corporation with a lot of congresspeople in their pocket tried the same thing.

My understanding is that there was a "middle man" that basically insulated both sides from running into legal trouble. What you describe is in essence what happened. But, the way it worked is that Disney said "we are going to lay off our IT workers and outsource to a company that provides IT services (and save money by doing so)," then that IT company came in and said "we have a contract to do this job for this amount - we can't find Americans (at what we are paying) so we will bring in H1Bs to do the job." The Disney workers are told to train the new workers (provided by a different company) on their way out. But, the new ones aren't technically Disney employees - they are employed by the outsourcing company. Disney isn't the only company that does this, by the way...

Yes, it's a clear violation of the spirit of the law, which is why it resulted in congressional hearings (that basically went nowhere in the end). But, it's probably not a violation of the actual rules of the law.

 

[Josh Hendy]

But, the new ones aren't technically Disney employees - they are employed by the outsourcing company. DDisneysn't the only company that does this, by the way...

Yes, it's a clear violation of the spirit of the law, which is why it resulted in congressional hearings (that basically went nowhere in the end). But, it's probably not a violation of the actual rules of the law.

I have a couple of legal quibbles ...

Getting someone else to commit an illegal act for you is not a valid defense. Neither is the fact that other people have broken the same law. Otherwise anyone who hired a hit man would get off scot-free, and a bank robber could simply point to the fact that he has plenty of imitators and competitors.

And US prosecutors have plenty of legal tools to stop organized, large scale lawbreaking even when they lack direct evidence, such as charges of conspiracy and racketeering.

There is no legal fig leaf ... just a really corrupt gang of elected co-conspirators. And the existence of such a gang is in no way an excuse for the Disney corp to behave in such a shabby way.

 

[Doug M]

My understanding is that there was a "middle man" that basically insulated both sides from running into legal trouble. What you describe is in essence what happened. But, the way it worked is that Disney said "we are going to lay off our IT workers and outsource to a company that provides IT services (and save money by doing so)," then that IT company came in and said "we have a contract to do this job for this amount - we can't find Americans (at what we are paying) so we will bring in H1Bs to do the job." The Disney workers are told to train the new workers (provided by a different company) on their way out. But, the new ones aren't technically Disney employees - they are employed by the outsourcing company. Disney isn't the only company that does this, by the way...

Yes, it's a clear violation of the spirit of the law, which is why it resulted in congressional hearings (that basically went nowhere in the end). But, it's probably not a violation of the actual rules of the law.

I work for USCIS and have seen these types of petitions, this is exactly what happens. And btw, first companies must get a labor certificate through DOL, and they claim "market wage" can be 80% of actual market and qualify for the LC. It is a horrid program that steals jobs from citizens and lawful permanent residents.