@gruber Can you imagine being the engineer tasked to implement this?
::: record scratch :::
You may wonder how I ended up here…
@caseyliss @gruber no sympathy for said engineer. you work for Musk at this point you know exactly what you’ve signed up for.
@herid @caseyliss @gruber rumor is they're mostly H1Bs now whose visas are tied to working specifically at Twitter. I've read posts that said being fired can mean being deported. Not sure how accurate that is though since I've not done the research.
Of course if you willingly chose to work for Twitter *after* the buyout you really have no excuse.
@beeoproblem @herid @caseyliss @gruber I thought those visas were not specifically about working for one company, likely the original sponsor, but about being in constant employment. So they could go to another company, but that is obviously more difficult at the moment with the tech sector in the state it is in.
@lomanfeusagach @beeoproblem @herid @caseyliss @gruber It's really not that easy, though. The new company has to be able and willing to sponsor you, and go through a lengthy process to interview and hire any new individual who requires a visa. Larger companies have a process, but startups aren't set up for it. Anyone living in that place of vulnerability will undoubtedly be trying to find a new sponsor, but it can take years for all the elements to call into place.
@AshleyMarineP @lomanfeusagach @beeoproblem @caseyliss @gruber
wait, **years** ?! I would have thought that anyone working at twitter would have a fairly easy time finding a new employer. But I am not in tech so perhaps that was naive.
@herid @lomanfeusagach @beeoproblem @caseyliss @gruber Hiring in the industry has changed so much in the last year. Many companies are on hiring freeze. If they're in a leadership position they have a better chance but just being a staff engineer, for example, doesn't carry the weight that it used to. Unless they're a specialist in something there's no reason for a company to go through the added work of sponsoring someone when there are thousands of other engineers searching at the same time.
@herid @lomanfeusagach @beeoproblem @caseyliss @gruber There are two added factors, as well. Bias against people who speak English as a second language is rampant in Silicon Valley. They also have to be very discreet about the fact that they're looking. They can't post on social media or blast their CVs around to recruiters without fear that it gets back to their current employer. Traditional networking is pretty much out.
@AshleyMarineP @lomanfeusagach @beeoproblem @caseyliss @gruber thanks. that was educational. things work very differently in academia. Poor English is a big minus too because people have to teach but retaliation by the current employer for looking for a new job is not a thing.
@AshleyMarineP
I am not certain as it's been a long time since I have dealt with this but I don't think anything is required from twitter in this situation except letting US immigration know that someone has been fired. but even if they don't I believe that doesn't hinder any prospective new employer from submitting a change of employer H1B petition.
@herid That's good to know, at least!
@herid @lomanfeusagach @beeoproblem @caseyliss @gruber I don't know the specific risks of this is the US, but it's also possible that, if Twitter fires someone who has a visa and doesn't file the proper paperwork, it could leave them in a limbo state and damage their ability to be sponsored by someone else.
Twitter isn't even properly giving people notice, there is no way they would follow through properly with immigration.