There are going to do it on the cheap.
Posted on 04/28/2005 4:41:23 PM PDT by churchillbuff
"Outsourcing" – which has become synonymous with sending American jobs to India or China – could soon mean foreign workers sleeping in ships just a few miles off America's coasts.
In an outrageous affront to U.S. labor laws, a California company plans to anchor a 600-cabin cruise ship just beyond the three-mile limit off the coast of El Segundo, near Los Angeles, and stock it with foreign software programmers. Story Continues Below
The company, SeaCode, will seek to classify the workers as "seamen," avoiding U.S. payroll taxes and the need for immigration visas. Programmers from places like India and Russia would work 8-hour or 10-hour shifts, either day or night. Take-home pay: About $21,500 a year.
Compare that to the salary of an American programmer – median salary for programmers is around $60,000, and those with extensive experience can make $125,000 or more - and U.S. companies like SeaCode could reap a windfall.
SeaCode says it will charge clients the same rate as firms in developing countries. The company says the significant benefit of having the low-cost programmers near the U.S. is that clients will be spared from long flights to India and other far-off destinations to check on projects.
By using foreigners working on boats, SeaCode also believes projects will get done more quickly as their programmers toil both day and night. "Try to get American software engineers to work at night," SeaCode co-founder David Cook told Forbes magazine, explaining his delight in the outsourcing scheme.
But Jack Martin, special projects director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, complained: "All it would do is be a further contribution to eroding the job opportunities for skilled American workers."
SeaCode is close to making an offer for the Carousel, a ship now sailing around the Canary Islands. The vessel would dock in Long Beach once a month to take on supplies and dispose of waste – isn't that nice? But legally speaking, the SeaCode scheme could face stormy seas.
"It's not my prerogative to tell them to take a hike," said El Segundo Mayor Kelly McDowell. "I'll leave that to the Coast Guard."
A better idea would be to staff the boat with doctors. Medical tourism is quickly becoming a booming business...
I know a programmer, makes way too much money with a two year degree, that's what he gets for being good at what he does. Guess I need to call him and tell him to kiss his job bye-bye. Illegals are just so much cheaper!!
And I'll send my apologies to the daughters he's supporting as well.
As a former employee of ICCL -the International Council of Cruise Lines(the cruise ship lobbying organization in Washington,D.C.) all crew members - including cleaning crew, etc. - are foreign workers. That's because all the cruise ship companies are foreign flagged. As an American, I could not be employeed to work on a cruise ship. Except, of course, if you were part of the entertainment as a contractor.
Prior to 2002 Royal Caribbean was flagged by Liberia. However, when the U.N. Security Council was investigating Liberia's terrorist connections Royal Caribbean's brass decided they should change. They are now flagged under Panama as I recall.
Every employee on a cruise ship is considered a seaman. As such, they are protected by the ILO (International Labor Organization) and some other U.N. organization that I can't remember.
Royal Caribbean, Carnival and others may have they corporate offices located in the U.S.(and employee Americans) but they all employ foreign workers. Usually, they contract them through a third-party employment agency.
The brutal fact of the matter is there's simply no reason to hire an American programmer for the standard stuff. In two or three years, you'll be able to hire an outsource architect for about 1/8 of the cost of an American one.
Companies are no different than individuals. Millions of people choose wal-mart over the local downtown merchant everyday for the same reason: price.
True as well as frightening. Used to live in a small town, when I asked our local feed store why they were going out of business, his response...if people would just buy their dog and cat food here, I'd still be in business, instead they drive a 60 mile round trip to save $1.
We'll have to accept many things changing in our world. As for Walmart, I've found many things cheaper elsewhere, I think it's cheap prices but just as much or more, convenience. Everything you ever wanted all in one stop. That's why we're called "lazy American's".
Or a huge floating brothel. That'd never go out of business.
I will tell you the reason.
If you hire a programmer overseas, you have to hire an analyst in the US to get the requirements from the users, write them down, and get them approved. You then ship them to India and hope they understand what you want. Usually they don't, so there's a lot of rework.
Plus the salaries in India are now about 1/4 - 1/3 of the US salaries, not 1/8.
It is what it is. Unfortunately, all the complaints in the world won't change a thing. It's like the weather. Large complex forces at work.
On the whole, I object to this less than full offshoring.
Sodden thought - imagine that boat when the first serious storm comes in. 3 miles out from El Segundo - I've personally witnessed 25 foot swells at that location during a storm.
I won't argue that the quality of U.S. programmers is probably higher, just as the quality of U.S. manufactured goods is probably higher than the stuff found in Wal-Mart. Yes, I can buy a cherry wood Green Design desk or a desk made in china of press board for about 1/100th of the price.
On the other hand, with the money I save at the company buying employees wal-mart press board, I can furnish my home in Green Design.
Hoax.
12 Miles. The story is wrong. And the 200 mile line is not for territorial waters but for fishing claims and treaty arrangements and such.
There are going to do it on the cheap.
My point is not quality. The Indian programmers are technically very good.
But the cost of getting them to understand what is required is greater than the savings in salary. You have to pay the US analysts to write down many things tha a US programmer would not need to be told.
But this is typical of US business. Every money-saving project my company has undertaken in the past twenty years has ended up costing far more than it saved.
I know guys in IT on Wall Street, banking, insurance etc. they're saving a ton on programmers, etc. Yes, the work isn't perfect. But is it close enough? Absolutely. Right now, x-rays are being read overseas, tax returns prepared, insurance claims processed, blue prints drawn etc. etc. In truth, there are few technical jobs that can't be outsourced. And fixing the glitches are just the cost of doing business.
The S.S. Polyp
This is obviously a hoax.
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