Outsourcing

[Tempest]

Picked this one up off an E-mail:

I was depressed last night so I called Lifeline. Got a call center in Pakistan.

I told them I was suicidal.

They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

 

[Schmoe]

I got a call from my wife an hour ago and said that Hertz computer programmers are going to be outsourced either by CGI or IBM. They are going to keep 90 current employees on staff and the other 600, are out the door. Can you _ucking guess where those programming jobs are going?

 

[My442]

Outsourcing is driven by consumers wanting lower prices.

The reason that Wal Mart is the biggest company in the world and the leading importer from China is due to consumers wanting cheap stuff.

 

[Papa Bear]

We ALL share in the blame... Companies, consumers, stockholders et al.

 

[BGK]

If it wasn't so easy to ship product and communicate throughout the world, outsourcing would be far more limited. Unfortunately, it's here to stay. Unless service deteriorates (which sometimes it does) dramatically, rarely is outsourcing cancelled. Money is at the heart of it, that's for sure.

 

[beanoil]

Just finished reading a book... "The World is Flat", by Friedman. Explains outsourcing, global economy, and communications better than any textbook. Did you know that several McDonalds drive-thru's are outsourced? Fast satellite communications are allowing someone in India to ask you what you want, keypad your order, verify it, and thank you as you proceed to pay and pick up. One person can actually handle multiple drive-thru's, eliminating many minimum wage employees. Amazing.

 

[dwendt44]

outsourcing isn't just about selling cheap stuff.
It's often about higher profits and bigger bonuses for the executives.

 

[Shannow]

Yep, Telstra outsourced their call centres to India, and a local call stayed at 27c.

Costs many dollars an hour for me to call India...I can't beleive that the difference in call centre wages is over $50/hour between Oz and India.

 

[Schmoe]

I need some info. There are federal unemployment programs out there that help out a displaced worker if the jobs are going overseas. I think it's called the FFA or FFT or ???? Anybody got anything on this???

 

[dwendt44]

TRA?

 

[Schmoe]

THANKS!!!! That's part of it, gives me somewhere to start.

 

[artificialist]

I just keep thinking about how machines are taking over. Sure, people can fight outsourcing, but movies have shown us that nobody can stop the machine.

 

[Towel_Rail]

Yeah, but somebody has to build/maintain the machines.