I think 2002 and 2003 will see a considerable change in those numbers. I would be very intrested in seeing the numbers when they come out.
Last Sunday I was talking with an individual in the outsourcing business. He estimated 500,000 IT jobs have recently been moved to India. That represents a huge cost savings to companies.
They estimate a minimum of two million more jobs will be relocated to India within the next two years. He openly gives this advise. Young people would be foolish to contemplate an IT education or career. People presently in IT should leave the field and start a different career path as soon as possible. It is nothing personal, it is just a fact of life.
The outsourcing company is also entering other fields. In their minds, IT is only the begining. Some areas they are starting to enter are drug research, accounting, customer service, and a number of areas I can't remember.
This individual was in the process of replacing 60 customer service employees making an average of $50,000 a year with 80 employees in India making $3,000 to $5,000 a year. (The huge cost difference surprised me.) The company does not intend to retain any of the 60 employees.
The US is not the only outsourcing target. EU countries are also losing IT jobs to India. EU is a ripe target for outsourcing.
'Water flows to the lowest level and nothing will stop it'. The only thing that is going to keep jobs here is salary deflation and that might not stop it. When you think about it, you can hire an educated person in India for US fringe benefit money. You don't pay SS tax, Workers Compensation Insurance Premiums, retirement, health benefits, term life insurance, or any local taxes.
I'm retired and very happy about it. So I have no personal employment stake in this 'globalization of the labor force.' My prime motivation is to understand how it works. The economic impact and how to capitalize on it. I learned to follow the trend a long time ago. You can't stop it, so why fight it?
NW |
