Shift of tech jobs abroad speeding up, report says

Boston Globe ^ | December 25, 2002 | Diane E. Lewis

[sarcasm]

Leading the way will be the information technology industry - the sector often credited with fueling the US economic boom of the 1990s - says the Cambridge firm's forecast.

Back-office accounting and customer-calling work are already being shipped abroad. But in the future, professional positions in technology, law, art, architecture, life sciences, and business management will be, too, says Forrester.

[RaceBannon]

Some of the Engineering number-crunching of Pratt & Whitney is now being done in India. They already have the commercial engines made 75% in China and in Poland.

[Non-Sequitur]

''Companies are doing it because they feel they can get better quality work for 50 percent of the cost. This is another way of making the US economy more efficient, more competitive, and more prosperous,'' he added.

More prosperous for who? Who's left?

[sinkspur]

There's no alternative. Once outsourcing begins, almost every company in an industry is driven to it for competitive purposes.

[doosee]

Left unchecked by the Republicans, this is an issue that could swing many voters over to the Democrat side in 2004. Many boomer age IT workers are being tasked to mentor the Indian outsourcing companies to smooth communications difficulties. The old are being phased out while the young entries into the field are being told they don't have a home. I would like to see a stat on the percent of airline travel increase from India to the USA. They are coming back and forth in swarms.

[Stefan Stackhouse]

Leading the way will be the information technology industry - the sector often credited with fueling the US economic boom of the 1990s - says the Cambridge firm's forecast. Back-office accounting and customer-calling work are already being shipped abroad. But in the future, professional positions in technology, law, art, architecture, life sciences, and business management will be, too, says Forrester.

Back a couple of decades ago when all the manufacturing jobs started going away, we were told that these "service" jobs were the wave of the future, that the US would become a "service economy", and that these types of jobs were inherently difficult to export overseas, and thus were more secure. So much for that.

So are we all going to end up just flipping burgers for each other?

[A. Pole]

''Companies are doing it because they feel they can get better quality work for 50 percent of the cost. This is another way of making the US economy more efficient, more competitive, and more prosperous,'' he added.

Who exactly will get prosperous?

[A. Pole]

''There are definitely cost savings,'' said Suzy Punj, senior vice president of Strategic Research Institute in New York. ''You would have to pay someone $40,000 here to do call center or back office work. There, they would make about $4,000, which is a good salary [in India]. There, they receive the perks of car services to and from the house, an apartment, and free lunch. So people stick around.''

So they will get more than this $40,000 American was getting before he was laid-off. In total balance it is a gain.

[sinkspur]

Left unchecked by the Republicans, this is an issue that could swing many voters over to the Democrat side in 2004.

What are the Republicans supposed to do about this? Or anybody, for that matter?

All a company needs is a communication line, and India is instantly accessible.

High-tech is not unionized, so the Democrats have little appeal here. Plus, there's nothing they can do about it, except demagogue.

[sarcasm]

See:

Migrating to US? Wait for Frist

[sinkspur]

Who exactly will get prosperous?

Anyone who contributes unique value.

If an Indian programmer can do the same thing you can do at half the salary, why should I hire you?

[A. Pole]

If an Indian programmer can do the same thing you can do at half the salary, why should I hire you?

Do you have any national preference? Do you expect this country to protect you and your property, if so why?

[300winmag]

Let's see them offshore their management and executives, too. After all, you can hire a manager/drone for one third the cost in India.

For illegal Mexicans, the excuse is "no American wants to do that kind of dirty work". For high-tech, the excuse used to be "we can't find anybody talented enough". Now for plain old white collar work, it's truthfully "we can get it cheaper in the third world", only they don't say it too loudly.

In none of these instances were the company's requirements laid out in front of its workers, so they could offer a counter-proposal. This is the "dirty little secret" of American business, that, like the turd in the punchbowl, can't be overlooked for much longer. The American worker, who led the world in increased productivity in the 1990s, is now being painted as some socialist slacker who doesn't deserve to earn a living.

As far as the "advantages" of having two sets of people working half a world apart, I contracted with the American research arm of a Japanese automaker. There's a 13 hour difference in time zones between Detroit and Japan. Engineering "conferences" consisted of a bunch of guys doing a teleconference to a VCR running on a timer on the other side of the world. The next day, people on the other side would view the tape, and respond to another VCR on the sender's side. A two-way exchange took 48 hours, as opposed to meeting face-to-face. This was tolerated, but it wasn't pushed as a "great advantage".

[doosee]

What are the Republicans supposed to do about this? Or anybody, for that matter?

India is not open to free trade. That can be addressed. So, for example, if Indians were importing American cars and other goods, it would help to offset the dollar flow of US tech jobs heading over there. Here is a direct example. An Indian friend of mine bought a $22,000 SUV in the states, then found out he was recalled to India. He wanted to take the SUV back to India but get this, the IMPORT tax in India was almost $20,000. The Indian government has huge tariffs protecting their industries. There are many other ways the Republican side can address this type of imbalance as well as the job loss.

[sinkspur]

Do you have any national preference? Do you expect this country to protect you and your property, if so why?

Yes. Yes. I pay taxes.

This is not about me. It's about the value of particular jobs. You no longer compete with just your fellow Americans, but with everyone else in the world.

Global markets require a global workforce. Like it, or not like it, that's the way it is.

[SpiritualPatriot]

General Electric Co., Boeing Co., and Nortel Networks Ltd. are among the companies sending programming jobs to India, Ireland, Russia, and China, according to Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn

As defense industry contractors, I do not see how they can claim to have integrity and outsource to our enemies.

The profit they gain today will be cut off in the not-too distant future, when China can strangle our defense industry and Armed Forces.

[sinkspur]

India is not open to free trade. That can be addressed.

How? India must become a prosperous country before it can be open to free trade. It's on its way.