KOLKATA – Mr Santhinesh Kumar Nagendran had what many would deem as a dream Indian immigrant job in California. A database team leader at Tesla, the 37-year-old earned around US$180,000 (S$240,000) annually, allowing him over the years to buy a house and provide his wife and two children with a comfortable life in the United States.

This dream run stalled in October 2022, when he was laid off by the electric vehicle producer and clean energy giant, one among hundreds of other retrenchment victims at the firm that year.

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