Dive Brief:
- EmblemHealth is reportedly preparing to sign a contract with Cognizant to offshore many of its IT jobs, according to a report by ComputerWorld.
- EmblemHealth IT workers have been organizing to try to stop EmblemHealth from proceeding with the deal.
- The company may be working with Cognizant, one of the largest users of H-1B workers, to outsource more than just the IT department, employees said.
Dive Insight:
About 60 EmblemHealth IT employees are organizing to fight the contract, but it’s unclear at this point what actions they could take to prevent the company from signing with Cognizant.
Right now, the contract with Cognizant sounds like it is a done deal, according to statement from the company. EmblemHealth is facing financial challenges, and Cognizant employees have reportedly recently been seen on-site meeting with EmblemHealth executives.
The debate over moving IT jobs offshore and companies using H-1B visas has grown increasingly heated over the last year. Last summer, Southern California Edison workers complained that more than 500 of them were laid off so the company could bring in cheaper H-1B workers from other countries. Former Disney workers say the same thing happened to them when 250 employees were laid off in late 2014 and replaced by workers from an outsourcing company in India.
Companies continue to show strong interest for bringing in foreign workers. The agency that handles H1-B requests recently said it hit its cap of 85,000 petitions in just five days and will award visas using a lottery system.
