This entry is part 3 of my rants on this subject. The previous rants can be found at
- http://shyk.blogspot.com/2004/11/offshoring-impact-on-us-jobs-economy.html
- http://shyk.blogspot.com/2004/11/offshoring-impact-on-us-jobs-economy_10.html
The statistics quoted (see last post) indicate that net job loss is zero. However that does not take away the fact that as there is increasing global sourcing; certain job profiles would get relocated. Off course laws can be made to make it difficult or impossible for companies to relocate jobs. Since that is something I would like to cover in my next post – let’s talk about what can be done if job relocation continues to happen.
As an individual or rather as a group of employees – the one way to stop jobs from going to somebody else would be to convince the employer that hiring somebody else is not a good economic proposition. Typical offshore rates work out to around $25/hr or $4000/month. Perhaps that is peanuts compared to what peers in USA earn – but to me, offering to work at that salary (in the USA, mid-west) sounds like a good option when compared to NOT having a job. Throw in a few sentences about your experience/skills and the savings in terms of management effort and perhaps one can work out a deal with the employer.
The concept of farm-shoring is something similar.
And though monetary considerations probably make the biggest impact on the employers decision, skills and availability there of also have an impact. Retooling or acquiring skills to move on to the roles below can also help in retaining jobs (albeit with a new job description
- Moving on to roles up the value chain – Business Consultant, Project Managers, Solution Architect et al that require proximity to the end user and hence cannot be outsourced.
- Picking up new skills/new technologies such as data warehousing, ERP et al.
- Relocating to a less expensive area in the USA where jobs are available.
Perhaps if Jingoistic politicians and community leaders stopped to think and helped the unemployed move into new roles – there would be far lesser angst all around.
Additional Reading
Labels: India, IT, Outsourcing
