Texas abortion law causes some left-leaning tech workers to rethink job options

[dalton99a]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/09/12/texas-abortion-law-tech-workers-reconsidering-relocation/

Texas wanted to be the tech haven of the U.S. Its new abortion bill and other measures are causing workers to rethink their move.
Tech workers are marking Texas off the list of places they’d consider working after the state passed the nation’s most restrictive abortion law
By Danielle Abril and Gerrit De Vynck
Today at 9:44 a.m. EDT

...

For the past several years, Texas has been selling itself as a tech haven attracting start-ups and tech companies such as Oracle, Hewlett-Packard Enterprises, and even Elon Musk, Tesla’s billionaire founder who has moved to the state. Big Tech companies such as Facebook, Amazon, and Apple all have grown their presence in the state, opening new warehouses, data centers, and production facilities.

But Texas’s recent swerve to the right on abortion, voting restrictions as well as a ban on coronavirus vaccine mandates has many workers and industry leaders like Bhaskaran worried about retaining workers and recruiting top tech talent to the state. In August, Texas had 33,843 tech job openings — the second highest in the U.S. after California — according to a report from the Computing Technology Industry Association. That’s up 56% from a year earlier.

Texas led the nation in population growth in 2020 attracting 373,965 residents, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. While experts say it’s too early to tell whether the new laws will cause any massive change in worker migration, they note that right-wing measures could lead to a pause of left-leaning tech workers considering moving to the state.

After Abbott signed the abortion bill into law, many tech workers were quick to react on social media platforms such as Twitter to air their concerns, frustration, and fears. For some tech industry workers who recently relocated to the state, the abortion law is making them consider moving elsewhere.

[cojoel]

1. I crossed Texas off my list of possible places to relocate a long time ago

But I did a lot of business there between 1990 and 2005, and made a personal trip to Austin (for bbq) ten years ago.

For the time being, at least, I won't even travel to Texas for any reason.