When Your Workforce Depends On Visas

Here's an uncomfortable conversation that Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), and Walmart Inc. (WMT) are about to have with their shareholders. SOC Investment Group, a proxy advisor that works primarily with pension funds tied to the Strategic Organizing Center union, wants these tech and retail giants to spell out exactly how President Donald Trump's immigration policies could throw a wrench in their operations.

The centerpiece of this investor revolt is Trump's proposed $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa approvals. That's not a typo. One hundred thousand dollars per visa. And these three companies weren't chosen randomly for this shareholder pressure campaign. They're the largest employers of H-1B workers in the United States, which means they have outsized exposure to anything that makes hiring foreign talent more expensive or complicated.

Tej Patel, SOC's executive director, put it simply: the availability of skilled labor is critical to "long-term performance of a company." If you can't hire the right people, your company's value takes a hit. It's basic business logic, but apparently it needs to be stated explicitly in proxy statements.

It's Not Just About Visas

SOC isn't stopping at H-1B concerns. The group has also asked Amazon and Walmart to disclose how other immigration enforcement actions are affecting their operations. Think farm raids by immigration authorities that could disrupt agricultural supply chains, which then mess with logistics networks that these retail giants depend on.

Now, SOC owns less than 1% of each company individually. That's not exactly a controlling stake. But together with allied funds, they collectively hold tens of millions of shares across the three companies, which gives them enough weight to make some noise.

The group wants these companies to include their resolutions in upcoming proxy statements. And if the companies refuse? Patel says "litigation" is on the table. So this could get messy.

Awkward Timing For Proxy Advisors

The irony here is pretty thick. SOC is flexing its muscles as a proxy advisor just days after Trump signed an executive order aimed at limiting the power of proxy advisors like Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis. The administration wants better regulations to rein in these firms that advise shareholders on how to vote.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has been particularly vocal about this issue, calling proxy advisors "corporate terrorists" who vote along "random political lines." He was furious when they recommended shareholders vote against his trillion-dollar compensation package. So there's a broader battle happening over how much influence these advisory firms should have in corporate governance.

Which makes SOC's aggressive push right now either perfectly timed or terribly timed, depending on your perspective. They're demanding disclosures about immigration policy impacts while the administration is actively working to diminish their influence.

Market Reaction

As for how the market is digesting all this, Alphabet shares were down 3.14% at $298.06 in after-hours trading on Wednesday. Amazon.com shares slipped 0.58% to $221.27, while Walmart shares edged up 0.21% to $115.66.

The question now is whether these companies will voluntarily provide the disclosures SOC is demanding or whether this heads toward a proxy fight and potential litigation. Either way, shareholders are clearly concerned about what Trump's immigration crackdown means for companies that have built their workforce strategies around access to global talent.