I have a real problem with encouraging the youth of America to strive for a college education and then outsource these positions offshore.
I believe the public is not always well informed. Much of the work being moved off shore is work that U.S. employees rate as unsatisfying, repetitive, and not contributing to career development.
I see it the same as the backlash that we witnessed in the U.S. when companies that had traditionally not laid off people started to do so in the late '80s. At first it was looked at in a very negative manner but in the long run it was good for the economy.
Can understand negative reaction, but economic "theory" suggests that offshore outsourcing should make the economy better — keeps prices low and makes companies focus on higher-value-added businesses.
Unfortunately, we have to compete in a global market and if we don't utilize offshoring another company will and put us out of business.
It is typical knee-jerk reaction to companies trying to control costs and remain competitive in a worldwide market.
Anyone who thinks that they can prevent jobs from moving offshore by wishing against it has their head in the sand. Only a competitive advantage could prevent that from happening.
Need to keep positions in the U.S.
Offshoring is just one of many supply-chain decisions. Should consumers stop buying products built overseas by non-U.S. workers? It is the same type of decision businesses have to make.
The backlash is appropriate. U.S. jobs will be lost and it will take a while before/if they are replaced. In the end, customer service will diminish as well.
Ridiculous. Politicians would like to try to isolate us from the inevitable tide of global economics — comparative advantage; the more vigorous the measures, the more damaging it will be to our economy in the long run.
It will continue until the U.S. economy including relative personal wealth) aligns itself with the rest of the world.
Current administration is doing a poor job of communicating situation to the public.
It's ridiculous. The free market should dictate where work is performed — as it always has.
Competitive tool to reduce costs — although any reduction in our current employee base is not done without due consideration.
Comments from Executives Who Don't Offshore and Don't Plan To
This is like finding out tobacco use is harmful to one's health. Foreign outsourcing didn't just begin a month ago. It may be recently new to service sector jobs, but manufacturing has been doing it for decades.
It is similar to the arguments against NAFTA and other tariff reductions — people are unnecessarily afraid of losing jobs.
For a company to survive in a global economy, they must take advantage of all reasonable cost-reduction opportunities. If they don't, their competitors will and the company will be at a competitive disadvantage.
In principle this is no different than buying imported products made in foreign countries. As long as the same or better service levels are maintained it is here to stay.
Short-sighted. Laws of comparative advantage still apply!
The backlash is real; quality, high paying jobs are being lost permanently.
This is all part of globalization. They have been teaching about these effects coming on in college economics classes for more than 20 years. There have been a number of events such as the cable laying for Internet development that have happened recently to accelerate the process, but history tells us that isolationism doesn't work, and so people need to get used to the idea that we now have to work to stay ahead of the curve, and that involves change.
Unless and until companies can explain and show that there is some positive impact, the Democrats have a real issue to put fear into worker's minds. They used a similar tactic which worked on Bush I when they threatened Medicare cuts if he was re-elected.
It will continue, but outsourcers will have to be more sensitive to the real costs of dislocation. Most successful outsourcers will do new functions there, not displacing current personnel.
The backlash is reflective of the current economic insecurity in the U.S. compounded by homeland insecurity.
Outsourcing has a legitimate place in American business, but the backlash will continue as long as we are seeing a net loss in U.S. jobs. Some of the savings received by the company must be passed on to employees who are losing their jobs as a result of outsourcing, possibly in job training, or enhanced severance packages.
I feel that if they put Americans out of work that I must support through taxes, then they should pay a hefty surcharge to offset my increase in taxes.
Political diatribe. Practice is not new. Political feel-good legislation is not the answer to this non-issue.
Companies engaged in offshoring have wrapped themselves in the cloak of the global economy to achieve short-term profitability at the expense of the trust and loyalty of their workforce.
If it leads to an increase in my taxes due to worker displacement, etc., then I believe the companies should pay a hefty surcharge for using offshore employees.
This backlash is narrow-minded, self-serving, isolationist focused, while we should be working in a global environment.
Caution should be used to determine compliance with laws and adherence to professional standards. In this information age, the confidentiality and integrity of information should be maintained at all times.
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