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January 28, 2004
U.S. Tech Workers Help Companies Export Their Jobs
Reuters:
U.S. companies are asking technology workers to help export a new product: their jobs.
As programing and other computer services move to low-cost locations in India and China, some workers are
in the awkward position of training their replacements.
Software developer Mike Emmons was shocked two years ago when Siemens AG, the German telecom equipment giant,
decided to replace him and his colleagues with lower-paid programmers from India.
According to Emmons, Siemens told about 20 workers in Lake Mary, Florida, that outsourcing was the wave of the
future. The company gave them severance -- provided they trained employees imported by Tata Consultancy Services
of India to do their jobs.
Tata workers hadn't known they were displacing Americans, Emmons said. Once they found out, it was uncomfortable
for them to work with the very people whose jobs they were taking.
Forrester Research predicts as many as 3.3 million U.S. jobs that now pay combined wages of $136 billion will
transfer offshore by 2014. Everything from call center work to software development is shifting to lower-wage
centers in India, China, the Philippines, Brazil and South Africa.
So far, while there is no federal legislation to cover private-sector job losses in high-tech fields, the number
of visas issued to technical workers dropped sharply last year.
Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, a trade group, warns that job
exports "could be a very, very hot topic" in the U.S. presidential campaign. Unemployment rates for engineers and
software professionals remain around 7 percent, higher than the overall unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.
Meanwhile, companies that provide "change management" services -- from small players like Cognizant Technology
Solutions Corp. to giants like Hewlett-Packard -- say they do so carefully.
"It's a structured process we take our large clients through," said Francisco D'Souza, Cognizant's chief operating
officer.
While the process is usually handled quietly, major companies "can no longer hide what they're doing," said Clive
Chajet, a New York-based marketing consultant whose clients include AT&T Corp.
"Those that say nobody will know are kidding themselves," he said.
Cindy TrackBack URL for this entry: I haven't (luckily) needed to call any tech support in such a long time I haven't had the "pleasure" of trying to follow instructions from a person whose English I can't understand. This is a disturbing trend, isn't it? Brain matter deposited by: Kat on January 28, 2004 5:45 PM Yes, highly disturbing. Most of the US call centers (exact stats on this unavailable as it was part of a TV news report) are now outsourced. It's highly likely to be speaking to someone in India when you're telephoning your own bank or credit card company. Nevermind the fact that this news is so unpleasant for folks seeking jobs -- if this keeps going in this direction, it might not be a bad idea to move to another country. Brain matter deposited by: Cindy on January 28, 2004 5:50 PMTrackback Pings
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