A snarky Fark entry says it all:
In further proof that the U.S. high tech job market is booming, Accenture is more than doubling its Indian workforce to 10,000
This shipping off of jobs to India is really bugging me. We’re not talking about menial jobs that so many people refuse to take, we’re talking about good jobs that could help an awful lot of Americans who are unemployed and living from day to day without knowing if they’ll be able to eat or pay their rent.
And these jobs aren’t really raising the standard of living in India, either — the people there are paid a pittance. It’s all about maximizing the profits for corporate America.
Global IT consulting major Accenture on Wednesday announced that it would more than double its headcount in India to 10,000 by December 2004, from the existing 4,300 professionals.
“Accenture strongly believes in high value service offerings. We start with outsourcing by only enabling capability. Offshoring to India, we are not going to be the low cost mode, but high value provider,” Cole said, adding outsourcing from India was cheaper than in the US.
What?
Of course the jobs are raising the standard of living in India. Why would the workers take the jobs if they weren’t better than their alternatives? What are you talking about?
These jobs are high-paying by local standards. Why shouldn’t those people be able to compete for work if they can do it?
And, what’s wrong with increasing the profits of corporate America? Corporations are owned by people. Largely by people with their retirement savings invested in mutual funds. And often these cost savings help to drive down prices which helps all consumers.
This offshoring paranoia seems to me like thinly veiled racism.
True to your blog title, you are a reasonable man and your arguments are also reasonable.
But I think – and yes, it’s just opinion – that American corporations have a certain responsibility to America. When the economy is suffering, when unemployment is high, why take the step of offshoring jobs? It’s one thing to create new jobs overseas, but to lay off thousands of American workers to move their jobs offshore is simply callous.
The idea that lowered costs are passed on to consumers makes perfect sense – but in practice, this is not what is happening. Corporations are using the increase in profits to line the pockets of those running the companies, not the stockholders or customers.
As for the racism comment – get real.
I didn’t mean the racism comment as a personal judgement. I’m not saying it’s part of your position. But, I do think that some people (not necessarily you) are more bugged by jobs moving to India than to Ireland, or Canada, for example.
Also, I think I agree with you that companies should not casually move jobs offshore (although there’s some point where it begins to be the best choice). Not because they have a moral obligation to avoid doing this, but because companies are comprised of people and people will enjoy themselves more, and perform better, if they feel like they’re a part of an organization that appreciates them and takes their lives and situations into consideration. It not only improves intangibles that are difficult to represent on the books, but it makes life more pleasant.
And, ultimately, that’s what counts.