U.S. jobs jumping ship: Cheap overseas labor is not just for manufacturers

[mkregel]

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - As painful as the labor market has been lately, what's even more painful is that many of the 2.5 million jobs lost in the past few years are never coming back.

That's because U.S. employers in a wide range of industries are moving more and more jobs overseas.


That may be old news for manufacturers, who have been cutting jobs and moving them offshore for decades, but it's starting to gather steam in services, especially information technology, formerly one of America's best-paying industries.



http://money.cnn.com/2003/07/22/news/economy/jobless_offshore/index.htm



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


And yes, I do know that my job will be done in India soon - they're planning on it in the next 5.

[kalian]

1. I have a theory about this.

I think American corporations, given that they are tied into
American politics, are leaving this country before the impending
economic crash and subsequent chaos.

[mkregel]

2. I just think theyre cheap labor conservatives

They want the highest skilled labor to work for the lowest wages and to kill each other for the lack of jobs.

Remember: Conservatives do not want a healthy economy. Healthy economies mean they have to pay their workers more. They want depression, recession and malaise. It is in their best interests.

[MUAD_DIB]

11. Depression, recession and malaise

lead to anger, hostility and revolution.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that we are the most heavily armed country on the earth.....

[cthrumatrix]

3. I feel the same way....and there is much more to that feeling...

Look at big money, corporatism ...they move legislation, treaties, and benefit from the laws they create.

They know exactly what's going. The dumbing down and control of America is taking place.

Ask the Bilderberger's what's the plan.

[RustyShackleford]

4. I thought that was my theory...

well it's more of a 'self fulfilling prophecy' than a theory anyways.

[newyawker99]

20. Hi RustyShackleford!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[scsifreak]

5. Have faith.

Corporations would actually be weakening their hold on elected officials. They can no longer play the 'we provide many jobs for Americans so do as we demand.' When all the jobs are outside the USA, how much clout do you think this would have? And if Americans become more and more impovrished, the pressure on elected government will become even stronger, further weakening their hold. It might come to a point where manufacturers who fled the USA may no longer be able to sell product in the American market because a populist protectionist government refuses them access.

[kalian]

6. By that time...the US will be another banana republic...

after the final war that is. :eyes:

[mkregel]

7. Again

Corporations want us desperate. That applies to politicians too.

If there are no jobs left in the US, and then Company X strolls into town and says.

"I can bring 2000 jobs to the state that gives me Y"

Congressmen will be climbing all over each other to give them Y and Z.

[cthrumatrix]

8. Their control comes through $$$...not job they provide...

I have a hunch that a large percentage are bought and paid for ...for years.

Selling your soul. You can tell the ones that have not...they speak out.

[mkregel]

9. Cost too much to buy a soul

All you need to do is rent it at the appropriate moment.

Much cheaper that way.

[Cheswick2.0]

10. you are correct

BTW, how is little Spiegel?

[hatrack]

19. Assuming anyone in America still has money to buy their products . . .

If not, this may not end up being much of an issue.

[are_we_united_yet]

12. Didn't George Bush say

"I will work tirelessly on the economy".

Was he....(gasp)..... lying?

Or was he talking about an overseas economy?

[Erika]

16. As Bush takes Huge Contributions from corporate globalists!

One thing I've learned is that Bush is a corporate globalist first and some kind of American down the line. What is good for corporate globalism is where you will find Bush's interests.

[On the Road]

13. My experience at Verizon

Telecom -- that's often grouped with services:

I'm having a complex data pull done, some of which was being done by a contractor. The contractor had to hurry to get the initial run done by two weeks ago because his contract was ending.

Shortly thereafter, his replacements were named -- they're contractors in India.

Of course, if he had been replaced by local programmers, they probably would have been Indian, too. Just saves the cost of getting green cards.

[antigop]

14. ORGANIZE, NOW!!!!

www.washtech.org

IBM employees:
www.allianceibm.org

[Upfront]

15. Buy American

Hard to do but we need to make every attempt to not support the companys that send our jobs off shore. My god, they just half to move their headquaters off shore and they pay no taxes. Ever wonder why both partys are not doing anything about this? Could both be bought and paid for? Think about it. x(

[termo]

17. welcome to capitalism !

it is called optimization.

[imix]

18. Why Don't Programmers Unionize?

Because like most they've been raised to look down on the union. Unions are constantly villified in the media and the educational system. Workers are trained and educated to be little more than tools for the machine, ready to be discarded at a moment's notice.


--------------------------------


Why Don't Programmers Unionize?

by
Tristan Trout

My friend Sara (whose name I've change to protect her slim chances of getting a new job) worked in the IT department of a large American corporation, keeping their Web site updated. Every so often, a new "project" would come down the pipe from the ignoramuses in Management, sparkling with the latest buzzword that some overpaid consultant had taught them. "Give us more interactivity," they would say. "Make browsing our site an above-the-fold experience. Give it hyperlinks."

After figuring out what the geniuses with the expensive degrees wanted, to get these projects done, Sara would often have to work until 8 or 9 o'clock at night, eating dinner out of Chinese take-out containers and neglecting her cat, her boyfriend, and her yoga class. More than half the time, the project was cancelled anyway, leaving Sara with nothing to show for her efforts but an ever-increasing roll of fat around her gut, cat piss on her bed, burnt-out batteries in her Hitachi Magic Wand, and some stale egg foo young in the fridge. It wasn't like they were paying her anything, either—she was kept on a contract that came up for renewal every six months, with no overtime, no retirement plan, no chance for promotion, and just enough money to pay the rent on her half of a tiny New York City apartment. Finally, late last fall, the company decided that it would be cheaper to "outsource," and laid off her entire department. She's now without health insurance and owes her dentist $500 she doesn't have for an emergency wisdom-tooth extraction.

Gone are the glory days of venture capital-funded bagels and massages at your desk. When the dot-com bubble burst like a fart in a bathtub, the code monkey became today's assembly line worker. The parallels are obvious: Both never wear shirts with collars if they can help it. Both are ultimately responsible for producing the finished product, and both possess a unique skillset that is necessary for getting the job done. Just as you can't make cars without guys with welding torches, you can't make video games or Web sites or financial software without someone who knows the difference between a C++ compiler and Minesweeper.


http://www.corporatemofo.com/stories/030119union.htm