Washington: A growing number of American IT professionals are resenting having to train Indians and other foreigners as the students end up replacing the experts who have to then contend with lower pay packets or no jobs at all.

Scott Kirwin clung to his computer programming job, but it was tough for him to relish his final assignment: training a group of workers from India who would replace him within a year.

"They called it 'knowledge acquisition,'" he said. "We got paid our normal salaries to train people to do our jobs. The market was so bad we couldn't really do anything about it, so we taught our replacements."

Laid off from a large investment bank in April, Kirwin, 36, sent out 225 resumes before landing a temporary position without benefits at a smaller bank and swallowing a 20 per cent pay cut.

Kirwin is among a growing number of American technology workers training their foreign replacements in an assignment many say they assume unwittingly or reluctantly, simply to stay on the job longer or secure a meagre severance package, the 'Washington Times' reports from San Jose California.

Their plight can be seen as an unintended consequence of the nation's non-immigrant visa programme - particularly the L-1 classification.

PTI