I already resigned from my current post after obtaining the work visa for the new location on November 30th. I asked their affirmation before resigning.
Right now, I cannot relocate and my current visa became void since I resigned. I also cancelled my rent agreement. In a month, I will be on streets, without a job and visa.
In every step I tried to behave ethically and high trust. Guess I did wrong. Are all places like this?
Ps: sorry, I forgot to add. the new location was Canada. My current location is in EU.
Ps2: some background about me:
Amazon offer was for Sde2. I have 5 yoe. I have worked in several projects spanning from embedded software for airplanes to scalable cloud based data heavy backend applications.
Java/C++98 were the primary stack.
I had turned down an offer from Meta to join Amazon. I think my system design and general ds&a ability is okay. I am a good team player and perform well in friendly environment.
Edit: Feels like something that governments should tie to individual company's ability to use the visa program. Rescind a visa-tied offer (for no-fault-of-applicant reason), and we yank your right to use the program.
I keep thinking one might want to have some sort of international organization where people in each country reciprocally lobby for better international workers rights for each other's citizens.
Maybe something like this already exists, but I haven't heard of anything like it?
It's the same idea as European worker protection employment laws compared to the US: they sound good, but the effect is that companies have to be slower to hire when firing is that much harder.
It would put the additional costs they create to be visible. This is as it should be, since visa users do cost more than hiring domestic.
However, it would not be much more. And if amazon deems it to be too expensive, then other companies which are more efficient can take up the spare visa users, just as the free market intends.
Which is good. Nobody wants a work environment that changes every five minutes.
Sounds like EU labor policy causes a set of effects resulting in a kind of equilibrium, perhaps a Nash Equilibrium.
It's not extra shitty, it's just as shitty as any other situation. It sucks for the person involved but the alternatives are not better.
At least someone that got their offer rescinded can sue for promissory estoppel.
Also, "extra shitty" seems obvious to me. You're not only not hired, you likely have to leave the country. The company rescinding the offer knows this.
Amazon as a multi-national, multi-billion dollar company can absorb the expense of employing him. I’m the worst case, they can lay off an existing low performing employee to compensate.
If they can't do simple things like not hiring people they don't need, maybe they should employ this guy as HR manager.
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Likely you would win an amount equivalent to the severance you would be eligible for from your previous employer plus additional expenses for relocation.
A letter from a wrongful dismissal lawyer will likely open the window to a better deal without having to file a lawsuit as companies don't like to see their name dragged in the mud with this kind of lawsuit.
I wouldn't be hopeful about this. Speaking from the UK, we have wrongful dismissal that's basically a breach of contract, so you're basically eligible for the notice period, which is 2 weeks, although I think it takes a week to kick in.
You could perhaps sue for other losses due to breach of contract but it wouldn't be wrongful dismissal and it would be a major departure from the British way of doing things.
However most British employment law protections stem from eu law. Wrongful dismissal is kind of a holdover at this point so it's possible Canadian law is now very different, despite being from the same root.
I suspect Amazon HR has assumed that they can get away in Canada with what they do in the US.
They may be about to be taught an expensive lesson.
That depends on the contract. 2 weeks might be typical for a US contract but it can certainly vary.
> You could perhaps sue for other losses due to breach of contract but it wouldn't be wrongful dismissal and it would be a major departure from the British way of doing things.
I'm sorry I don't know where you get this idea of 'the British way of doing things' I've lived here my whole life and I've never heard this. Regardless, it doesn't constitute an argument. Consequential loss is absolutely a thing.
Wrongful dismissal law (precedents) requires you to make reasonable effort to mitigate damages;so keep up your job search.
Remember that once you have a new job offer, any delay in beginning employment while waiting for a new visa can be claimed against Amazon.
If this is the case, I wonder if it implies that you can pursue an equivalent job IN CANADA, with Amazon paying for anything lost in the process...
Have you got a signed contract? In which case them paying you is not a "gift" but something you are most likely legally entitled to, and you should find out how much they are required to pay you first of all. You can probably get a decent idea by a bit of googling, and if it looks like you are entitled to a good bit more than the one month they offered you, you should seek out an employment lawyer asap. If the law is on your side and you are lawyered up, hopefully it won't be necessary to sue them.
> In every step I tried to behave ethically and high trust.
Never trust faceless magacorps, especially not ones with a long documented pattern of screwing over their employees (and everyone else) without a second thought and right when they are going through mass lay-offs. Working for bigtech can be a great idea compensation and career wise, but never lose sight of the fact that to them you are just a replaceable cog whatever the in-house brain-washing department will try to tell you. Also, try to understand how critical the team you are hired into is to the company's current revenue streams, especially if the economy looks like it does now.
I would also suggest putting some contact details in your HN profile, maybe someone will reach out who can help (either with advice or, if you are really lucky and happen to have the right skills and tell people here about them, potentially even a visa-sponsorship; one difficulty is that you are on a short time frame and typically only larger companies will offer visa sponsorships unless you have some particular key skills).
> Are all places like this?
No, but you should be prepared to get screwed over at startups or small to medium companies as well. For faceless megacorps reading up on (ex-)employee experiences on forums like HN and glassdoor etc. is a good idea. For small companies being a good judge of character and talking to the CEO or similar as part of the interview helps.
They typically make more offers than roles they have available, as they have fairly good analytics around what % of offers will not be filled post acceptance (ie someone simply never shows up for day 1 of work).
Now, fast forward to today, and as you've heard in the press, and from Amazon directly, they are slowing hiring and may even do cuts in the new year. I think what you're seeing is in some areas they may be over running offers, and need to pull back and kill some post acceptance to correct based on the new reality of hiring forecasts.
Still sucks and is a shitty situation.
I have experience a few times new employee's not showing up on day 1. I would NEVER even consider extended multiple offers to people just to ensure one of them shows up. That is more than just "shitty" as you say.
2022 exposed the fact that in the US, with its at-will employer, offer letters never offered much of a protection if they were offered in good faith, and then rescinded.
There are times when you read something that conveys real depth of knowledge, sharp execution, and competence, but a complete lack of consideration for whether the thing done was right to do in the first place.
It does suck and it is a shitty situation, and it is probably a good idea to keep that framing in mind, as there is no recourse against a company the size of Amazon behaving like this towards someone without much power and influence.
But let's not lose sight of the fact that this is was an unethical action to take. If your forecasts include some risk, and your potential hires are taking that risk on (as H1Bs, no less), don't lie to them and tell them it's safe to quit their previous job when it's not.
If Amazon are doing this, they should be paying the full cost of their error, which is more than a month's salary.
USCIS released (somewhat relaxed) guidance on the current environment for non-citizen workers. You can find a list here https://twitter.com/debarghya_das/status/1605392365325205506...
In summary, all the “gray zone” escape hatches like the 2 month grace period or the B-2 status change are considered “in the clear” per this guidance.
My previous job was more than happy to take me back. It felt gross, but nonetheless I went back. Turned out to be a good bet for them as I remembered and felt indebted to them.
It may work to try to contact your previous employer. In a purely rational context they should take you back and it’s a win for them.