美国国家公共电台 NPR--Sweeping tech layoffs are hitting immigrant workers hard

Sweeping¹ tech layoffs² are hitting immigrant workers hard

Transcript³

Layoffs have been sweeping the tech industry in recent weeks. Those job cuts weigh heavily on immigrant workers in the U.S. on H1-B visas.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And I'm Rachel Martin. About 50,000 tech workers lost their jobs last month as Meta, Amazon, Twitter and others laid off parts of their workforce⁴. Losing a job is always devastating⁵. But for many immigrant workers, their ability to stay in the U.S. is now on a pretty brutal⁶ ticking tock. NPR's Stacey Vanek Smith reports.

STACEY VANEK SMITH, BYLINE⁷: Back in March of 2020, Aditya Tayade (ph) was working at a tech company near Boston. Things were going well. He'd just gotten a promotion⁸. But COVID and lockdown hit his employer hard. The office was closed down. The company called a virtual⁹ all-staff meeting. And Tayade had a bad feeling. Almost immediately, the CEO confirmed his worst fears.

ADITYA TAYADE: Saying that they are taking a decision to let people go. And the people who are being let go will get an email within the next hour.

VANEK SMITH: Tayade was in his living room, glued to his computer, refreshing¹⁰ his email again and again. And then, all of a sudden, there it was, the email.

TAYADE: I don't remember the subject line. But it just started that, if you are getting this email, that means you're one of the thousand employees who are being let go. And these are the next steps you need to take.

VANEK SMITH: What did you do when you read that?

TAYADE: I had a very shaky voice when I told this to my wife. I then went to the bathroom, and I cried.

VANEK SMITH: Tayade and his wife are from India. They had been in the U.S. for five years. Their life was here. But Tayade was in the U.S. on an H-1B or skilled worker visa. Tech companies use these visas a lot to find workers they say they cannot find in the U.S. The H-1B visa ties a worker to a particular job. And if they lose that job, a countdown clock starts. Tayade got his emotions together and immediately started making a plan.

TAYADE: Let me take out this emotion and then think of it strategically¹¹. Like, this is happening, so I have two months.

VANEK SMITH: Two months. People who lose their job on an H-1B visa have 60 days to lock down a new job before they have to leave the country. Right now, thousands of H-1B visa holders¹² are facing this same ticking clock. Joshua Browder is the CEO of DoNotPay, an AI-based legal services startup. He says it's always been such a struggle to find talent. He's had to pay recruiters to find people. So after he heard the news about Meta's thousands of layoffs, he sent out a quick note on Twitter.

JOSHUA BROWDER: If you have recently been laid off and hold an H-1B visa, we would love to chat with you at DoNotPay. Twenty-five percent of our team are not U.S. citizens. And we can move quickly.

VANEK SMITH: Browder thought, maybe I'll get a few really top people who've been laid off, kind of a win-win.

BROWDER: We've had hundreds of people reach out. Some of the best designers, engineers with amazing portfolios¹³ reached out. And it's very surprising that they were laid off.

VANEK SMITH: Browder is an immigrant himself and says H-1B workers are in a really tough spot. There is a flood of tech workers on the market right now and a lot of hiring freezes. Also, many places will hire a U.S. citizen over an H-1B worker. It's cheaper, less paperwork. Aditya Tayade was up against this himself when he was laid off back in 2020. He started applying to every possible job, obsessing¹⁴ over every question in every interview.

TAYADE: There was a lot of overthinking, I think, at that point because I was like, I need to answer all the questions correctly. What if I answer one question incorrectly and that is what decides my future in the States?

VANEK SMITH: Tayade was applying around the clock. Sometimes he would do five interviews in one day. First round, second round - it was a blur¹⁵ until one day, he got a job offer on email.

What - how did you feel when you saw that email?

TAYADE: (Laughter) I think I was bursting tears of laughter. Like, one email changed my life. Then this other one has changed my trajectory¹⁶ again.

VANEK SMITH: Tayade got the job with just 15 days to spare. Now he's trying to help H-1B holders who are in the same situation he was in two years ago, trying desperately¹⁷ to find a job with the clock ticking.

Stacey Vanek Smith, NPR News.

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

5 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

9 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

10 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

11 strategically   

adv.战略上，战略性地

参考例句：

• The fence is strategically sited to prevent anyone getting onto the beach. 这个围栏的地点选择得很有策略，可以阻止任何人到海滩上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are candles strategically placed—just in case we have another power cut. 我们把蜡烛放在合适的地方，以防再停电。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

13 portfolios   

n.投资组合( portfolio的名词复数 )；（保险）业务量；（公司或机构提供的）系列产品；纸夹

参考例句：

• Price risk arises in non-trading portfolios, as well as in trading portfolios. 价格风险中出现的非贸易投资，以及在贸易投资组合。 来自互联网
• How do we fatten our portfolios and stay financially healthy? 我们怎样育肥我们的投资结构和维持财政健康呢？ 来自互联网

14 obsessing   

v.时刻困扰( obsess的现在分词 )；缠住；使痴迷；使迷恋

参考例句：

• Why is everyone obsessing over system specs right now? 为啥现在人人都对系统配置情有独钟？ 来自互联网
• A nitpicker, obsessing over dimes, is too stiff to place orders. 一个连一毛钱都舍不得亏的人，因太过拘谨而不能下单。 来自互联网

15 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

16 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

17 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。