rruff, something of a different subject but of concern to this nation's security. It has got to do with export of jobs overseas and with it the export of not only national security but also prosperity. And to pour salt over the wounds of the American people, these US corporations are the darling of the Bush Administration and they get all sorts of tax breaks etc. I hope this is not something that you would categorize as "extreme point of view". Here goes. when it comes to national security, jobs etc., I am sure we all can agree that this nation is very much united in their views.
IBM jobs headed abroad
By JONATHAN B. COX, Staff Writer
IBM is planning to move as many as 4,730 software programming jobs to India, China and other overseas countries, according to a published report Monday, action that could further pare its Triangle work force.
The computer services company, the biggest employer in Research Triangle Park, told midlevel managers in October to plan on transferring work to foreign countries beginning next year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing internal company documents. IBM has already hired 500 engineers in India to handle the work, the newspaper said.
Those slated to be replaced update and improve software for IBM's internal needs. They're classified as part of its Global Services division, the operation that accounts for more than half of IBM's payroll and primarily handles the computer needs of external corporate customers.
The unit is the company's second-largest in RTP -- which is IBM's biggest site worldwide -- and employs about a quarter of the 13,500 workers there. The Triangle, because of that scope, likely will suffer as jobs move overseas, a trend that could be just starting.
"The reality is the pressure is enormous" to find cheaper labor, said David Tapper, a senior analyst with IDC in Framingham, Mass. "You begin to ask yourself, 'Is this the end of the beginning or the beginning?'"
Offshoring, as the transfer of jobs to foreign countries is called, has grown in popularity as companies race to cut expenses. Wall Street has pressed companies to become more lean during the economic slump to improve profits.
EDS, a rival computer services company, wants 20,000 workers in low-cost countries within two years, Tapper said. Accenture, the consulting company, has 5,000 in India now and wants 10,000 there by the end of next year.
And Tapper predicts that IBM, which has 9,000 workers in India and China, will boost its work force in those countries to between 15,000 and 20,000 within the next couple of years.
IBM declined to comment on the internal presentation about moving the software programming jobs overseas. In a statement, the company said it expects hiring in the United States next year to equal or exceed 2003 levels. Hiring in the Americas, on a percentage basis, will outpace hiring in the rest of the world.
Lee Conrad, who is working to unionize workers at historically nonunion IBM, isn't convinced. He says the reported offshoring is just the "tip of the iceberg."
IBM's plan, which is still being worked out, will be implemented over many months, The Wall Street Journal said. About 947 people are to be notified in the first half of 2004 that their work will be handled overseas, it said.
The newspaper said that it's not clear how many of the other 3,700 jobs considered prime for sending overseas will be moved next year. Workers in RTP; Dallas; Boulder, Colo.; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; and other sites will be affected.
Some displaced employees will be expected to train the new, overseas, workers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"It's despicable," said Conrad, national coordinator for the Alliance@IBM, which represents 6,000 workers. "It's like building a gangplank and before pushing the employee over saying, 'Please train your replacement.' "
The offshoring trend has defined the manufacturing sector for years. North Carolina has been racked with layoffs as textile and furniture companies lose business to China and other Asian rivals.
The technology sector is poised to go through the same evolution, Tapper said. But this shift could have a more telling effect.
The jobs, especially in software, are high-paying positions. Conrad estimated that those set to be sent overseas by IBM pay at least $60,000 a year. As the trend accelerates, there probably will be fewer places for techies to find similar salaries, analysts said.
To be sure, some companies have found that sending jobs overseas doesn't always work. Dell recently decided to transfer some call-center functions back to the United States from India after corporate customers complained about service.
Even so, analysts say that with time, companies will figure out which operations work best overseas. And they will transfer jobs.
That could be bad for the Triangle. In the past two years, IBM's campus has shrunk from a peak of 15,000 employees as the company laid off workers and contracted out manufacturing and human-resources jobs.
About half the workers are now employed by the software division, the biggest in RTP, and the global services unit. Those functions, Tapper said, are prime candidates for sending jobs overseas.
Already, RTP has been "hit pretty hard by IBM," he said. "The reality is," as more jobs are sent overseas, "I don't really think we'll see them replaced."
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