Outsourcing Firm Rattled by Trump ‘America First’ Agenda

The prospect of President Trump’s altering the U.S. legal immigration system and the H-1B visa has one of the largest outsourcing firms rattled.

In SEC filings obtained by Quartz, Infosys executives panicked as to the shifting views of Americans on immigration and trade, as well as the potential changes to the H-1B visa that the Trump Administration could enact.

Infosys, one of the largest outsourcing firms, is responsible for mass lay-offs of Americans at a multitude of U.S. companies. Those pink-slipped are generally given two options: Train their foreign replacement and receive severance, or refuse for nothing in return.

Though the firm has outsourced with little interruption for years, 2017 SEC filings depict a different picture under the Trump Administration.

“An increase in anti-outsourcing sentiments in certain countries in which we operate, including the United States and the United Kingdom, may lead to the enactment of restrictive legislations that could limit companies in those countries from outsourcing work to us, or could inhibit our ability to staff client projects in a timely manner thereby impacting our revenue and profitability,” Infosys executives wrote in the most recent SEC filing.

The executives also blasted negative media coverage and the changing views of Americans towards the H-1B visa and outsourcing.

“Media coverage and public scrutiny of our business practices, policies and actions has increased dramatically over the past twelve months, particularly negative and in some cases, inaccurate posts or comments in the media, including through the use of social media,” the SEC filing continued.

Every year, more than 100,000 foreigners are brought to the U.S. on the H-1B visa and are allowed to stay for up to six years. Most recently, that number has ballooned to potentially hundreds of thousands each year, as universities and non-profits are exempt from the cap. With more entering the U.S. through the visa, Americans are often replaced.

Trump’s executive order targeting abuse by U.S. companies, as Breitbart Texas reported, calls for the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Labor Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct a “full legal analysis” of all the problems negatively impacting American workers in the H-1B visa system.

Most recently, Breitbart Texas reported how in a recent TimesJobs survey, 44 percent of the 800 employers polled said American tech firms would “shift back jobs from India to U.S.” if the Trump Administration imposes major reforms to the H-1B visa program.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.