Some Thomson jobs in Rochester headed overseas (India & the Philippines)

[OhioChick]

November 14, 2008

Thomson Reuters Corp. is shipping some of the legal publishing work done in Rochester and two other U.S. sites to operations in India and the Philippines.

The New York City-based news and information company notified employees in Rochester, Cleveland and suburban Minneapolis about the change Thursday.

Thomson Reuters employs almost 750 people in downtown Rochester, most of them in the Aqueduct complex next to the Broad Street bridge and some in the Bausch & Lomb tower. Although the company declined to be specific about how many jobs will be affected, it affirmed its intention to maintain its Rochester operation.

Spokesman John T. Shaughnessy said the company over the next three years will relocate some work done in the three cities, such as quality assurance, loading data into databases and keying in hard copy content into digital form.

Other editorial work, such as legal analysis, product design and author relations, will continue to be done in the United States, Shaughnessy said.

In the first year of the realignment, the company plans to add 300 to 500 positions in India and the Philippines. At the same time, the company intends to cut jobs at the three U.S. sites.

Shaughnessy declined to say how many layoffs the company anticipated in 2009 but said it hopes to keep dismissals to a minimum through reassignments, attrition and a voluntary job separation program. The company hopes to have 70 workers across the three sites take voluntary buyouts in 2009.

Thomson Reuters has no plans to close the Rochester, Cleveland and Eagan, Minn., offices, Shaughnessy said. And the company is not giving any guidance for job changes it expects in years two and three of the realignment.

The Cleveland site employs about 200, Shaughnessy said, while the Minnesota office, by far the largest, employs 6,800.

Thomson Reuters was formed in April when Thomson Corp. purchased Reuters Group. Quarterly earnings results announced this week indicated that Thomson Reuters' legal division saw its revenue and operating profit rise significantly.

"The business is committed to doing this (jobs move) to ensure we remain a growing business in the future," Shaughnessy said.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20081114/BUSINESS/811140335

Courtesy of "blue97keet"

[Fovea]

1. TAX the SHIT out of outsourcing

remove all profitability to off shore a job.

[Berry Cool]

4. I hope Obama does just that.

The editorial side of Thomson may stay here for now, but just wait. Eventually they'll decide that people in India have sufficient English skills that they can handle that too...and off it will go...leaving even more people without jobs. And those people didn't have great jobs to begin with.

I interviewed for an editorial job at Thomson once. Had to take a huge battery of tests to prove my computing, word processing and editorial skills, and get interviewed by a roomful of people...jump through all these hoops...got the impression from them that the job was a lot of anal-retentive grief, editing material dry as toast (municipal code)...and I'd have had to start at $25K.

They made me an offer, but I said "no thanks."

If they can find a way to get people in India to do it for $10K instead, they probably will.

[Go_Go Ho_Ho]

10. Thomson India

The Minnesota version of this news article: http://www.startribune.com/business/34497509.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciatkEP7DhUsr

"Thomson Reuters Corp. will eliminate as many as 70 jobs, many in Eagan, as a result of shifting some work to India and the Philippines, where it can hire more employees for the same cost.

The cuts include support staff for Thomson Reuters legal publishing, which summarizes laws and legal decisions in print and through its Westlaw online service. Previously, the company hired contract support workers in India and the Philippines, but now it expects to hire 300 to 500 employees there.

The U.S. reductions, through buyouts, layoffs and attrition, will continue through 2009, spokesman John Shaughnessy said. Those laid off will get six months' advance notice, plus severance pay.

Thomson's legal publishing business has 6,800 employees in Eagan, including hundreds of support workers, Shaughnessy said.

It also has 750 employees in Rochester, N.Y., and 200 in Cleveland.

Attorneys in the legal group aren't affected by the shift to Asia, Shaughnessy said. The firm experimented with basing some lawyers in Asia several years ago, but dropped the plan."

[ihavenobias]

7. Amen n/t

[ChromeFoundry]

8. And the people need to be aware of these companies

when the buy products and services. Taxing them is good, but companies always find loopholes and just flat out break the law. When people stop buying their products, only then, is all profitability truly removed from the equation.

[OhioChick]

9. True. n/t

[blue97keet]

2. Thanks for starting thread on this.

Thanks OhioChick.

[OhioChick]

3. When you find important articles like this....

Post them! :)

Good find.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. just posting

for Rochester, a place that I love...home to Susan B and Frederick D, the town that put cameras in the hands of millions...

[Azlady]

6. More job loss to outsourcing...I agree

Tax the hell out of these companies!