While the American technology giants have all announced massive job cuts in recent months – layoffs that particularly affect foreign workers – in Chicago dozens of companies in the sector have just announced that they have thousands of vacancies, reports Bloomberg.
“More than 35 Chicago-area companies are willing to hire workers with H-1B visas. They partnered with the city and P33, a nonprofit founded by former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, to create a job posting website that went live this week.
“We have a real need for professionals, says Chris Cartwright, who runs TransUnion, a credit reporting agency. We want to send the message that there is a very attractive tech community here in Chicago. The sector is alive and dynamic. It is made up of both confirmed players and new shoots. We are ready to welcome these workers.”
This initiative, the first of its kind, is likely to support Chicago’s ambition to become in turn a real technological pole, underlines the economic information site. The city also intends to make diversity a major asset in an industry where approximately 40% of computer engineers working in the United States are foreign-born.
The potential of regional companies is very important, specifies Bloomberg : there would be approximately 400,000 vacancies in Illinois. At the moment, the Go Tech Chicago site has some 900 job offers. Among the employers who are recruiting are the equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, the pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance and Vivid Seats, a ticket resale specialist. All the companies present have already sponsored foreign professionals.
H-1B visa holders who have just lost their jobs have only sixty days to find another job and convince the employer to sponsor their new visa application. A procedure that can cost the company between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars.
