Senator Demands
Abbott Labs Reconsider 180 Layoffs, Foreign Replacements
by Caroline May 2 Mar 2016
A Democratic senator is demanding answers from a
company in his state said to be laying off 180 workers and replacing them with
foreign workers.
In a letter
this week to Miles
D. White, the Chairman and CEO of Abbott Laboratories, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) pressed the company to rethink the mass
layoff and “retain these U.S. workers, who have dedicated years of loyal
service to your company.”
“I am deeply concerned about reports that Abbott Labs is
laying off 180 Information Technology (IT) employees and replacing them with
temporary foreign workers who, after they are trained, will then do these jobs
outside the United States,” Durbin wrote.
In his missive, the Illinois lawmaker laid out what he
understands Abbott’s plans are:
-You have given 180 U.S. employees 60-days notice, and
their last day of employment at Abbott Labs will be April 22, 2016.
-To add insult to injury, the Abbott Labs IT staff who
will be laid off will first be forced to train their replacements.
-You have awarded Wipro Ltd, a large Indian outsourcing
firm, with a contract to take over the jobs of these American workers.
-You are offering the U.S. workers severance of a week’s
pay for each year they spent at the company, but in order to receive this
severance you are requiring these employees to sign away their right to sue or
disparage the company. The severance packet you gave your workers contains a
full-page ad listing jobs at Wipro.
-The people you are laying off have stellar experience,
credentials, and performance reviews, and some have been with your company for
15-20 years.
Durbin further recalled hearing about the layoffs from
witness testimony during last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
examining the impact H-1B visas and other high skilled immigration have had on
American workers.
“Just yesterday, we learned — and the senator might be
interested that Abbott Labs in the Chicago area has — yesterday announced to its
employees that it was canning 180 Americans and replacing them with H-1B
workers,” John Miano, a Center for Immigration Studies expert, testified
Thursday after reeling off a list of other companies, such as Southern
California Edison and Disney, that have terminated U.S. workers for foreign
replacements.
Durbin’s letter and request for reconsideration, as Miano
pointed out, follows a long line of companies that have similarly engaged in
this practice. Durbin and a bipartisan group of senators including Sen. Jeff
Sessions (R-AL) 80%, have been voicing concern, calling for
investigations and offering legislation to address the ongoing “abuse” of high
skilled guest worker programs.
“I will continue to push for legislation to reform the
H-1B and L-1 visa programs, but the gaps in current law are no excuse for your
company to treat your employees so unfairly,” Durbin added. “It should go
without saying that such harsh and insensitive conduct is not justified by
whatever marginal financial benefit might accrue to your company, which is
already making billions of dollars in profits every year. Once again, I urge
you to restore the jobs of these 180 American IT employees who have served your
company with skill and loyalty for many years. I look forward to your prompt
response.
UPDATE:
In a statement provided to Breitbart News after
publication of this story, spokesman John Koval did not address Dubin’s letter
but rather explained Abbott’s recent actions as part of its common business
practices.
“Abbott regularly evaluates its competitive position and
makes changes that reflect the strategic needs of its business,” Koval emailed.
“We recently outsourced some IT capabilities. We’re retaining the vast
majority of our U.S.-based IT jobs.”
Abbott Labs
Miles D. White is
the chairman & CEO for Abbott Laboratories,
and a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
Note: Sally Blount is a
director at Abbott Laboratories, and
a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
W. James Farrell
is a director at Abbott Laboratories, and a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Edward M. Liddy is
a director at Abbott Laboratories, and a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
William A. Osborn
is a director at Abbott Laboratories, and a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Samuel C. Scott
III is a director at Abbott Laboratories, and a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Glenn F. Tilton
is a director at Abbott Laboratories, and a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Christopher B.
Begley was a SVP at Abbott Laboratories, and is a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
William M. Daley
was a director at Abbott Laboratories, the chief of staff
for the Barack Obama administration,
and is a member of the Commercial Club
of Chicago.
Jack M. Greenberg
was a director at Abbott Laboratories, and is a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Robert L.
Parkinson Jr. was the president & COO for Abbott Laboratories, and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
William D.
Smithburg was a director at Abbott Laboratories, and is a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Penny S. Pritzker
is a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, the secretary at the U.S.
Department of Commerce for the Barack Obama administration, was the national finance chair, fundraiser
for the 2008 Barack Obama presidential
campaign, a co-chair for the 2009
Barack Obama inaugural committee, a fundraiser, national co-chair for the 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaign,
a contributor for the 2013 Barack Obama
inaugural committee, the host for the Barack
Obama fund-raising dinner, 7/2/2008, Craig
M. Robinson’s basketball coach for the children's team, and a member of the
President's Council on Jobs and
Competitiveness.
Craig M. Robinson’s
basketball coach to his children's team was Penny S. Pritzker, and is Michelle
Obama’s brother.
Michelle Obama is
Craig M. Robinson’s sister, and was
a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack
Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin
LLP.
Newton N. Minow is
a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP,
and a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
R. Eden Martin is
counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and
the president of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
Miles D. White is
a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, and the chairman & CEO for Abbott Laboratories.
Covington
& Burling LLP was the lobby firm for Abbott Laboratories.
Eric H. Holder Jr.
is a partner at Covington & Burling
LLP, was a board member for the American
Constitution Society, an intern at the NAACP
Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and was the attorney general at the Barack Obama administration.
Faith Elizabeth
Gay is a board of adviser’s member for the American Constitution Society, and was an attorney at Sidley Austin LLP.
Sidley Austin
LLP was the lobby firm for the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America.
Abbott
Laboratories is a member of the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the American Constitution Society, and the Economic Policy Institute.
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, the Brookings
Institution (think tank), the Aspen
Institute (think tank), and the Economic Policy Institute.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is a senior director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund,
an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle,
a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, a
director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg
conference participant (think tank).
Cyrus F. Freidheim
Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Valerie B. Jarrett
is a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, the senior adviser for the Barack
Obama administration, and her great uncle is Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
Akin,
Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers
of America.
Abbott
Laboratories is a member of the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America.
Miles D. White is
the chairman & CEO for Abbott Laboratories,
and a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
James S.
Crown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the vice
chairman for the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Lester Crown
is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a lifetime
trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Andrew L. Stern was
a lifetime trustee at the Aspen
Institute (think tank), a director at the Economic Policy Institute, and is a member of the National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform.
Richard J. Durbin
is a member of the National Commission
on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and a senator for the IL congressional delegation.
IL
congressional delegation is the delegation for the State of Illinois.
Illinois
state government is the government for the State of Illinois.
Patrick Quinn
was the governor for the Illinois state government, and a revenue director for Chicago (IL).
Rahm I. Emanuel
is the Chicago (IL) mayor, a member
of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and
was the White House chief of staff for the Barack
Obama administration.
Richard M. Daley
was the Chicago (IL) mayor, Michelle Obama was his staffer, and Valerie B. Jarrett was his deputy chief
of staff, is a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, and William M.
Daley’s brother.
William M. Daley
is Mayor Richard M. Daley’s brother,
a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, was the chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration, and a director at Abbott Laboratories.
Miles D. White is a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and the chairman & CEO for Abbott
Laboratories.
No comments:
Post a Comment