http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/laid-off-carnival-worker-hires-lawyer-after-hes-forced-to-train-foreign-replacement/ar-AAlBL7Y?li=BBnb4R7
Carnival Cruise is laying off its entire IT department and forcing its workers to train their foreign replacements, Carnival Cruise Line IT worker Matthew Culver revealed during an interview with the FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo.
The laid off workers are reportedly being told that they will have guaranteed employment for six months at Capgemini, a French consulting and outsourcing firm. After the six months are over, the workers will be cut loose, Culver said.
“Three hundred families are going to be affected and we’re going to be forced to sign with Capgemini or be out of a job and lose our benefits,” he said. “Our deadline is December 19th, 6 days before Christmas… and the ultimate goal is that we would train our replacements, most likely H-1B Visa workers, and eventually be out of a job.”
Other media reports have said that it was up to 200 jobs in Miami that were affected.
Despite this, Culver said he refuses to sign the offer.
“I refuse on principal to work for Capgemini. They’ve already confirmed that their business model is to offshore the jobs to cheaper locations,” he said.
Just this week in Florida, 30 former Disney IT workers filed a lawsuit against the theme park over claims that they were discriminated against because they were fired and replaced by contractors from India.
Culver said his attorney also represents the Disney workers. He did not say whether he also plans to file a lawsuit.
“She’s made it clear to me that this is just a way of sidestepping the responsibility and that the ultimate goal is not to take care of us as workers,” he said. “It’s to increase profits only.”
In a statement, Carnival Corporation told Fox Business Network that it was overhauling its IT operations “to keep pace with the evolving technology environment.”
“All impacted individuals are being offered employment with Capgemini, which operates offices in 36 cities in 15 states throughout the U.S., as well as four offices in Florida,” the statement said. “In addition to the work being done with our company, Capgemini offers broader career opportunities for individuals who specialize in IT. In addition, impacted individuals can also seek other career opportunities within Carnival Corporation.”