Copyright indiatimes
When recently US President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee that applies specifically to new H-1B petitions for workers from outside the United States, it was a slap in the face, said Jodi Shelton, chief executive of the Global Semiconductor Alliance on Friday.GSA is an industry organisation that represents 300 corporate members, including more than 120 public companies that includes makers or service providers of semiconductors, software, solutions, systems, and services. Members of the GSA represent over 84% of the $662 billion semiconductor industry."When the H1B fee of $100,000 was made "it was a slap in the face. We want semiconductors in the US, but we don't have the talent. The Trump administration would like to see more STEM (science, technology, engineering, medicine) agendas for US citizens. That's a nice lofty goal but it hasn't happened yet. We're extremely dependent," she said."If you look at the industry in the US, the public companies, half of all US semiconductor companies are run by foreign born CEOs," Shelton said."Putting programmes in place, starting a great school, and getting people excited about STEM is good. But in the meantime, we better figure out how to be an attractive place for people from India, China, or wherever to come and study. Once they come and study, then you'd want to keep them and make them a part of the industry in the US," she explained."We'll see how much it affects semiconductor companies. Many of the companies that hire students are pretty rich companies. Can they view the $100,000 as a sign on bonus? They can pay for it and ask you to stay for several years to make sure. This can be an alternative," she said.Medium and smaller companies that recruit may simply not be able to pay that, she added.On Friday, India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) and GSA announced a collaboration aimed to accelerate India’s integration into the global semiconductor value chain. It seeks to leverage India’s expanding talent base, evolving fab and OSAT infrastructure, and strong policy support to attract global fabless companies and innovators to co-create in India. By combining ICEA’s engagement with India’s policy and manufacturing ecosystem and GSA’s extensive international network of semiconductor leaders, the partnership aims to facilitate cross-border collaboration, strengthen supply chain diversification, and advance India’s position as a key contributor to the global semiconductor industry.
