Replies

This is what I don't get about all this: these articles consistently maintain that only the lower-paying jobs are being outsourced and offshored. The company I work for is outsourcing and offshoring IT jobs that are not lower-paying. We have an old system that is sunsetting and a less-old system that is being modified. The maintenance programming tasks on the old system are being outsourced. My coworkers and I spent months documenting everything we did to analyze and make programming changes to that system, and then performing "knowledge transfer" sessions to impart our wisdom on the programmers from Covansys that were taking our old jobs so that we can move onto new ones. All well and good, but.....

It took us years to learn that old system, and the performance we're getting from the offshore contractors indicates that they really needed years to learn to do our jobs, not months. What a surprise! The end result here is that folks who were supposed to be freed up by now to move onto greener pastures are still hand-holding the contractors. In the meantime, the greener pasture has deadlines approaching and no staff to do the work. Soooooo, we have foreign contractors learning the new stuff too.

Gives me a headache.

I don't understand your post. Yes, a contractor was hired to take actions related to the "old" system. But I don't see any loss of jobs related in your post, instead a reallocation of jobs to the "new" system. At least that is the intent.

What would your reaction be if they had hired a contingent of US IT professionals to do the contractors job, then after the transition they laid them off? Would you consider that job loss?

One interesting point on free trade. An aurgument used often by free traitors is that when these jobs go overseas we will get the goods cheaper and that is where the middle class will see a benefit. I noticed something this weekend I went to Home Depot to buy a jig saw for a project I ahve at the house. I was going to buy a Dewalt, but they are now all, or at least the half dozen of their tools I checked are made in Mexico. I asked the tool guy and he told me that recently they shut down their plant in the Mid west and moved their production to Mexico. The price (Dewalts always have been a bit costly, but they WERE the best) is the same. Now price break here. The same thing is happening with Chicago Cuttlery kithen knives. Were made in USA, now made in China. Price still the same.

And as a side note the tool guy told me he would not buy one of the new Mexican Dewalts because the quality had dropped serverly. He said the number of tools returned with defects has more then doubled since their move.