Trump fires TVA chair, cites hiring of foreign workers
Source: Associated Press, via Chattanooga Times Free Press
Business Around the Region
Trump fires TVA chair, cites hiring of foreign workers
August 3rd, 2020 by Associated Press and Dave Flessner
This story was updated Monday, August 3, 2020, at 8 p.m. with more information.
President Donald Trump said Monday that he had fired the chair of the Tennessee Valley Authority, criticizing the federally owned corporation for hiring foreign workers to replace IT workers in Chattanooga and other TVA cities.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he was formally removing TVA chairman James "Skip" Thompson and former TVA Chairman Richard Howorth from the nine-member board, and he threatened to remove other TVA board members if they continued to hire foreign labor.
Thompson, a Decatur, Alabama businessman appointed to the post by Trump in 2017, was elected TVA board chairman last year and disagreed with President Trump in April over his criticism of TVA and its CEO, Jeff Lyash.
Trump, who previously denounced the $8.1 million compensation package given to Lyash as "ridiculous," also called upon the TVA board to replace Lyash and immediately hire a new chief executive officer who "puts the interests of Americans first."
"The new CEO must be paid no more than $500,000 a year," Trump said. "We want the TVA to take action on this immediately. Let this serve as a warning to any federally appointed board: If you betray American workers, you will hear two words: 'You're fired.'"
{snip}
Trump, who is paid $400,000 a year as president, has urged TVA to cut the $8.1 million compensation package given to Lyash "by a lot."
Trump blasted Lyash for replacing many of TVA's in-house information technology workers with contractors who rely heavily on foreign workers under the H1-B visa program for highly skilled workers.
TVA laid off 62 IT workers in June and plans to cut another 38 workers by October after hiring contractors to perform much of the computer and software development now done by TVA employees, who primarily work at the computer center in the Chattanooga Office Complex.
{snip}
Staff writer Dave Flessner contributed to this AP story.
Read more: https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2020/aug/03/trump-takes-disciplinary-action-against-tva-leadership/528926/
= new reply since forum marked as read
