Outsourcing Times

Air NZ Outsourcing Plan Hits Turbulence

The fear of outsourcing virus seems to have hit New Zealand now. Recently, the union representing 1700 Air New Zealand workers whose jobs are under threat said it planned to go ahead with an Employment Court hearing on the matter. Radionz.co.nz reports:

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union says it has been unable to reach agreement with the airline on Tuesday on the company's plans to outsource its passenger and ground services. The two parties have been in two days of talks after an Employment Court hearing on the dispute was adjourned.

Read more: Union to go to court 0ver Air NZ outsourcing plan

BBC Staff Wakes Up To Outsourcing Trend

Staff at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) licensing headquarters in Bristol are on a two-day strike to protest against outsourcing work to India. The workers fear the switch of work could lead to hundreds of job losses in Britain. Indiaenews.com reports:

'We know that UK customers do not want their bank and other personal details sent abroad and we call upon the BBC to intervene in this matter and reverse the decision,' worker's union assistant secretary Andy Furey was quoted by Ireland online website.

Read more: BBC staff to strike over outsourcing to India

FSSA Outsourcing Plan Hits Turbulence

The FSSA reorganization and outsourcing plan is meeting with a lot of opposition. Recently state caseworkers, their union leaders, social advocates and others accused Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration of lying, fudging statistics and endangering needy and vulnerable Hoosiers to make its case for outsourcing the application process for food stamps and other public benefits. Fortwayne.com reports:

The Daniels plan envisions improving the delivery of the public safety-net benefits system received by one in six Hoosiers by making it easier to submit and process applications through the Internet, e-mail, telephone call centers, and faxes. It also aims to use computers to drive the process with self-surveys, instead of time-consuming interviews, to ease caseworkers’ paperwork and reduce error and fraud.

Read more: 200 protest outsourcing benefit plan

Bell Layoff Leads To Ugly Union Scenes

Outsourcing, while good for companies that receive orders, can be pretty ugly for laid-off workers of firms like Cincinnati Bell. The company recently laid off 45 workers, prompting a demonstration by union members. They are accusing the company of increasing its profits and executive pay at the expense of employees.

According to a Cincinnati Bell spokesman, the layoffs followed failed negotiations with the Communications Workers of America to achieve cost reductions by other means. The company is now proceeding with an outsourcing plan for certain support functions in the company. Employees of outsourcing firms will assume the jobs of mechanics, truck drivers, supply workers and clerks. News.enquirer.com reports:

The union also cited the irony of layoffs when the company reported $22 million in third-quarter profit and paid $1.6 million in bonuses to its five highest-paid officers. "The loss of jobs is inevitable," said Dottie Vories, a 16-year employee who was laid off Friday from her $22-an-hour clerical job in the company's Engineering Department, "but we were never treated with respect or integrity."

Read more: Union protests Bell layoff

Offshore success bites into UK tech workforce

Research analyst firm Ovum has thrown up some alarming facts for the UK job scenario in the technology sector. According to the report, the number of offshore workers delivering work to the UK organizations will double within a period of three years, touching a figure of 130,000 offshore workers. On the flip side of the coin, there is going to be a 6% drop in the number of onshore software and IT services staff.

While there is a steady number of UK-based workers being absorbed by offshore companies, this job channel is not enough to counter the fall in UK-based jobs in the IT and software sector.

Ovum senior analyst Phil Codling makes a frightening statement on Silicon.com:

We face the prospect of a skills time-bomb in IT. It is not clear where the next generation of highly-skilled, experienced programme and project managers will come from.

You need a “versatilist” to ride the outsourcing storm

IT professionals in America are constantly living in fear of losing their jobs; at least, that's the feeling one gets after reading articles about jobs migrating offshore because of outsourcing. This might be just going over-the-board a bit, but the concern is certainly there, and the fraternity of IT professionals has accepted the fact that outsourcing is here to stay, and is devising ways of getting around the outsourcing storm and keeping IT jobs afloat.

The consensus is that the specialized IT professional will find it difficult to survive, because his or her specialization can lend itself to only a limited number of jobs. A more practical solution is to specialize in a particular area of IT expertise, and then diversify to other related areas of business processes, thus widening the job profile. In other words, if you are a versatilist, you can find favor with company CEOs.

To effectively surf the outsourcing wave, companies are looking for greater maneuverability and agility in their workforce; if one employee can fit into different job portfolios, that employee is much more valuable than the specialist who has a fairly narrow job path to traverse. Datamation quotes Morello of research firm Gartner:

The versatilist can look like many things. While a combination of business and tech is one excellent choice, there are other versatile skill sets a tech professional can acquire to be more marketable.

Did Outsourcing Raise Level of Wages?

According to the economists in the United States, outsourcing has helped raise real wages for low-skilled US workers. It happened despite the negative publicity and political controversies. There has been a view that transferring US jobs abroad has hurt American workers' wellbeing. However, this charge has been countered by the economists. They argue that wages for the least-skilled jobs has been rising for the past few years, as outsourcing boosted productivity in the organizations. Evidences suggest that the productivity effect helped raise real wages for such workers.

Read our pos titled "Is the Future of BPO Industry Secure in India?" to know about BPO operations.

Outsourcing storm brewing in schools

Controversy and outsourcing have almost gone hand-in-hand, but in most industries the logistics have worked in favor of outsourcing. In schools, too, considerations of saving money and releasing in-house resources for core school requisites are beginning to work their way through controversial roadblocks.

School authorities in Michigan want to concentrate on their main business of educating students, and are happy to push the management of ancillary services—such as food, custodial, and bus services—off their plate. Private companies are willing to step in, offering these services at competitive rates.

The school authorities might be happy, but people who are losing their jobs to private companies are certainly outraged. For example, 29 custodians and 4 food service workers have lost their jobs in Garden City alone. Yes, some of these workers will get absorbed by the private service providers, but at much lower wages.

Quite naturally, jobless workers are spearheading the move to recall board members in several schools, including Garden City Board of Education and Lakeview Public Schools in St. Clair Shores.

Detroit Free Press has much more on this controversy.

Local Mid Michigan company speaks the outsourcing language

In the midst of the outsourcing whirlwind, companies are realigning their business processes and leaning the outsourcing way. Mid Michigan, which is already laden with economic hardships and job loss, is about to see yet another local company seeking the outsourcing route.

On-Line Die & Engineering Inc. has had its home in South Dort Highway in Burton for the last six years, but talks are rife about the company leaving the Flint area. Although there is no official word on the move, anxiety waves are already riding high in the worker fraternity. ABC News reports:

Workers say in the last month, owners have approached certain high-end workers from the design and program departments and offered them a continuing job but in Mexico.

ABN makes outsourcing its weapon for growth

ABN Amro, the Dutch bank takes the outsourcing route to cut costs and increase profits with a resulting 2400 job cuts. ABN witnessed a 12 percent rise in profits boosted through the revenue from Italy's Antonveneta which was acquired after a controversial bid battle. Australian reports:

ABN AMRO would cut 2400 jobs by combining back-office operations and shifting them mostly to India, the big Dutch bank said as it lifted its annual cost savings goal by E150 million ($246 million) to E900 million from 2008.

Prudential incurs the wrath of the Unions

Prudential, UK's second largest insurer, has announced plans to outsource more jobs to India thereby leading to 700 jobs being lost in the process. The unions displayed their anger stating that the company was taking advantage of cheap labor and giving little importance to the loss of jobs. Independent UK reports:

The move, which will affect about 700 jobs, will see the group close its sites in Bristol, Belfast and Egg's headquarters at Holborn Bars in London.

EU initiates fund to combat the fallout of outsourcing

European Union has proposed a 500 million Euro annual fund to meet the ills of outsourcing like job losses. The fund aims to imbibe a sense of entrepreneurship amongst laid off workers as well as develop new skills.  The Times Of India reports:

The money, to be financed by a new 'Globalisation Adjustment Fund', is an indication of Europe's acceptance of globalisation and will be used to aid European employees in dealing with the unexpected developments and side effects of relocation to countries outside the EU, the INEP agency reported on Wednesday.

Shift jobs out to create more jobs!

In this day and age of globalisation any sense of nationalism especially in matters business is always misguided and counter-productive. A recent survey of consumers in the US have come up with the finding that 65% of the respondents said that if they knew that a paticular company was using call centres based in India, Philippines or anywhere else outside the US, they would buy less or even totally stop buying from that company. It does not take an Einstein or the ability to master rocket science to realise what would happen if people really began to do that. US companies would lose their competitiveness and go bust, lay-offs will rise, corporate sector savings will fall, domestic investment would fall - on the whole there will be more unemplyment in the US. It seems to go against intuitive logic but the truth is that the more jobs shift out of the US, the more jobs can be created within the US. Just try to figure that out!

Read more:Is the shine off offshore outsourcing?

Beeline to India for BPO jobs

If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain. So goes the saying.  With increasing globalisation something of the sort is happening in the global labour market. Till the other day, Indians, Chinese, other south east and far east Asians were making a beeline for the developed world in search of jobs. Today the tide has turned. People from the developed world are now flocking to countries such as India to find jobs. And you guessed right? Where else but in the BPO sector.  So what if those 'bally' Indians are grabbing all the new jobs? Just go over to India and grab those jobs yourself. Who is stopping you there. No doubt globalisation is creating a level playing field and perhaps, for the first time in the history of capitalism, the labour market is actually becoming a perfect market with national barriers disappearing and people moving freely between different labour markets. We all know what that means for the future -- wages will tend to become uniform across the world! Or, will they? What do you think?

Read more:Firangs discover India for BPO jobs

EIRCOM signs €35 million contract with Capita

EIRCOM has entered into a five-year outsourcing contract with British call center firm Capita Group. The agreement is worth €35 million, but will result in the loss of 200 jobs at EIRCOM.  Irish Examiner reports:

The deal is Eircom’s second with Capita and follows a similar three-year arrangement agreed in January which affected 200 staff who make outbound sales calls to encourage customers to take out extra Eircom services, such as broadband internet and add-ons such as call answering.

Budget constraints force Nolanville City Council to outsource EMS

To counter budgetary restrictions, the Nolanville City Council has reached a decision to go ahead with the dissolution of the 15-member emergency medical services. These positions will now be outsourced. Because of this step, at least seven EMS employees of Nolanville will lose their jobs. KCEN-TV reports:

Scott & White Hospital out of Temple will take over operating ambulance service for the town. They plan to hire only eight employees. Current EMS employees can apply for those jobs.

Northwest considers outsourcing of flight attendant requirements

After filing for bankruptcy in September, Northwest Airlines is attempting to reorganize its position by cutting costs. The airlines has already outsourced jobs which were earlier performed by its mechanics union, and is now making a move to outsource most of its flight attendant requirements on international flights.

This move has engendered worries in the unions of not only Northwest, but also other airlines; if the Northwest move succeeds, other airlines may follow suit. Professional Flight Attendants Association estimates that in excess of 2,000 workers would lose their jobs. CNN Money reports:

The demands on the Northwest flight attendants prompted the Association of Flight Attendants, an AFL-CIO affiliated union, to offer an unconditional, no-strings-attached pledge of resources and support to PFAA, an independent union that does not belong to the AFL-CIO.

The IT professional and outsourcing

The phenomenal success of outsourcing and the rate of growth that the industry has witnessed in recent times has led to a very real job insecurity, particularly in the IT sector. One way of ensuring that your job is not outsourced is to deliver what your employers expect from you.

According to Patricia Bramhall, president of Tydak, a Thousand Oaks, California-based consultancy, it is important to communicate well with the job requirements, and keep the focus on the customer. It is vital to understand the key areas of business that your company is engaged in, and then focus all efforts on the goals of the organization. IT is a sector that is always prone to outsourcing, and it is important for IT professionals to project themselves as part of the business process, so that the perception is there that the IT professionals are contributing something extra to the company. Datamation reports:

Once IT is aligned with business and working together to solve customer needs, conversations about outsourcing IT often are put on the back burner. But that's not always the case, Bramhall warns. The financial advantage of outsourcing work to people who are paid a fraction of what American workers earn is sometimes too great to pass up -- no matter how aligned IT and business have become.

Read More: Align with Business... or be Outsourced?

LSI Logic Corp. to close down its Gresham chip-manufacturing plant, turn to outsourcing

LSI Logic Corp., which manufactures chips for telecommunication, computer, and electronic products, has announced that it will go ahead with outsourcing its chip production to producers in Asia, and eventually may close down its manufacturing plant in Gresham. This decision has been brought about by the inability of the management to upgrade and modernize its plant to bring it at par with today's technology.

This move has already resulted in 90 job lay-offs at the Gresham plant, and put the remaining jobs in jeopardy. The company plans to continue manufacturing at Gresham until early next year, and is hopeful of getting a buyer for the plant. However, it will be difficult to get a buyer easily, considering that the plant uses an out-of-date technology. OregonLive.com reports:

LSI spokesman Kevin Brett said the company can't afford the billions it would cost to upgrade the Gresham site to keep up with the latest manufacturing technology. Instead, he said, LSI will outsource its chip production to contract manufacturers in Asia and put its Gresham factory on the market.

Read More: LSI to outsource production, sell factory

GKL PLC Announces Major Layoffs in Outsourcing Move

In what seems to be a global epidemic among automotive and aerospace companies, GKL PLC has announced it will eliminate 2,500 jobs at its U.S. and French manufacturing plants.  The company plans to outsource the work to firms based in Latin America and Eastern Europe.  This move is part of a larger company plan to increase output in low labor cost areas while eliminating much of their workforce in first world nations.  This strategy was made clear by a company report that indicated it planned to increase the production of transmission components by 70 percent in Mexico and 40 in Brazil by 2007, while simultaneously doubling production from existing plants in Poland and Slovakia.  What is interesting about the move is not that the company is planning to allocate its labor in a more cost efficient manner, but the fact that the company is being so straightforward about the move.  One could interpret this as an indication that the backlash against outsourcing is waning, but I think a more appropriate rationale is the shield offered GKN PLC by the industry it is involved in.  With automotive firms throughout the western world struggling to achieve profitability, the general public has shifted to support the firms rather than simply their labor. MENAFN.com reports:

GKN recently announced the colusre of two U.S. plants and said Thursday it was thinking of closing a Florange, France, facility.

Read More: GKN outsourcing 2,500 jobs

Finding and Selling your personal Outsourcing Services

A recent report by MSNBC outlines the various ways in which individuals can market themselves online to first world employers.  By the same token it outlines some ways in which individuals in need of programming or freelance work can find and contact individuals located in India and China to contract out that work. 

The article covers websites like Contracted Work, Guru.com and Elance Online, each of which charge users a middleman fee to connect service providers with employers on an individual basis.  For Indian technicians, the article recommends creating a website to showcase your abilities, while for employers it recommends signing up with these services.

The reality, however, is that there is no need to pay such middlemen.  There are a number of free, yes free, sites that connect individuals in need of projects done and literally thousands of potential contract employees.  Do these pay per use sites make the process simpler, potentially.  But in my experience it has been quite a simple task to find employees in just a few minutes by scouring the web. MSNBC reports:

But before you sign up and pay for this service, shop around.  Contact the sites you're interested in, ask to speak to other graphic designers who list there and see what they have to say about the reliability of leads.

Read More: How to ride the global outsourcing wave

Outsourcing Contract Sparks Union Strike

Bradford council IT staff will strike this week upon a recent admittal by an executive that a 160 million pound contract will lead to redundancies and eventual layoffs. The strike is being held because the Unison trade union holds that the company previously negotiated with employees that the Bradford-i outsourcing project would create no job losses. This incident may be particularly of interest to unionized companies considering outsourcing contracts because it indicates a very tangible outsourcing backlash cost incurred by some companies.  Additionally, it may serve as an indication that concessions in IT union negotiations regarding outsourcing can be particularly costly to the company if handled poorly. silicon.com Reports:

The latest calls for a strike were triggered by a meeting between Bradford council's CEO and the 105 IT staff affected by the Bradford-i project, where it was confirmed that at least 22 jobs would be axed and a further 40 roles impacted by the move.

Read More: Outsourcing job losses trigger strike ballot

Fueling the Outsourcing Debate

For offshoring companies and their clientele, the threat of a public relations fiasco is becoming a significant factor in the financial/risk calculation of deciding whether to offshore. Despite the fact that most large companies are currently engaged in the practice in some for or another, the public's generally negative perception of the practice necessitates that most firms keep their offshoring efforts under wraps. Consequently, a number of outsourcing and offshoring firms are trying to fight the stigma associated with offshoring, in the hopes that they might liberate other companies to join ranks. On the opposite end, however, are a number of commentators and surveys which speculate on the potentially negative short-term effects on domestic labor demand and wages. One such report appeared this week, further muddying the debate on the greater economic ramifications of outsourcing. Scotsman.com Reports:

New research has shown between 10,000 and 15,000 financial services jobs could join the flood of low-skill call centre and back office administration posts already moved abroad. According to Troika, the financial services consultancy behind the research, a total of 100,000 jobs will be lost to low-cost countries by the end of the decade.

Read More: Exodus of City jobs to India to top 15,000 by 2010

Outsourcing to India Not Major Factor in US Employment Declines

A recent report by consultancy firm McKinsey indicats that despite domestic concerns, outsourcing to India is not playing a significant role in US job losses.  Pointing to the relatively small number of offshored jobs, McKinsey argued that the source of US jobloss was related more directly to the tech boom, and as a consequence recommended that no steps be taken to tighten trade restrictions.  Keralanext.com Reports:

Terming the job loss due to outsourcing as ''a drop in the bucket'', McKinsey said a job shift of this size in the US is small compared with the 2.1 million service jobs created every year during the 1990s and minor compared even with the net annual job increase of about 3,27,000 from 2000 to 2003.

Read More: India, Outsourcing to India not causing job loss in US: McKinsey

U.S. Outsourcing Accelerates

Outsourcing of jobs from the U.S. is accelerating. Last year, many groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that approximately 200,000 U.S. jobs per year are sent offshore. A new report by a bipartisan congressional commission reveals that 406,000 U.S. jobs would be outsourced in 2004. And this acceleration is expected to continue for years to come.

According to the International Herald Tribune:

Some economists cite growing numbers of U.S. jobs transplanted overseas as the main reason for slow employment growth during the current economy recovery. Another 400,000 jobs added to the total 1.8 million jobs created in the United States in 2004 would be "a big deal," Stephen Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley, said. But Shang-Jin Wei of the International Monetary Fund said that when a company employs people overseas, lower costs and high profits enable it to hire elsewhere in the organization.

Read more: Outsourcing of jobs is accelerating in U.S.

White Collar Outsourcing

Jobs of middle class workers in the United States and England are being threatened as much as those of unskilled workers.

According to the Telegraph:

Rick Simmonds, a director of outsourcing advisers ALS Consulting, said: "Middle England is under threat. Mr Jones's suggestion that if you've got the skills, you've nothing to fear is rubbish. China's middle class has only been in existence for 10 years. In 10 years' time, they'll be producing some pretty skilled and educated people."

Read more: Outsourcing 'going to hit professionals'

The Outsourcing Boomerang

Foreign outsourcing firms such as Wipro have recently been hiring in the US. BusinessWeek reports on this trend ("The Outsourcing Boomerang"):

Judging by various outfits' plans, this trickle of reverse offshoring may well turn into a flood... A recent study by economic think tank McKinsey Global Institute has found that every dollar a U.S. company spends on outsourcing results in $1.12 to $1.14 in additional work here.

Foreign investment for setting up U.S. subsidiaries and plants doubled, to $82 billion, between 2002 and 2003, according to the Commerce Dept. That means 400,000 new jobs, most of them tech-related, figures the Organization for International Investment, a trade association based in Washington, D.C. Over the same period, outsourcing has taken away about 300,000 U.S. jobs, according to tech consultancy Forrester Research.

How to pick a job in an 'outsourcing' world

TheSunLink gives some "advice" on what careers to go into to avoid being outsourced.

With all the talk of white-collar jobs moving overseas, it's no wonder that Americans, particularly those just entering the work force, are wondering about the safety of their jobs and reassessing career and educational choices.

Career coach Michael T. Robinson of Careerplanner.com believes the best jobs for the future are the ones that require a worker's physical presence and can't easily be done remotely, like nursing, real estate and teaching. Another route is to go for jobs that require a lot of skill, like music, acting, or writing these aren't likely to move overseas either.

Here's my advice: Learn how to use offshoring to your advantage. Get on Elance. Figure out how labor arbitrage can build your coporation/small business/hobby. It is my business.

Offshoring Tech Jobs

A growing number of Americans are finding their tech jobs are being sent overseas, primarily to India.

From the Holland Sentinel:

"In the months leading up to his layoff, Cotterill was assigned to work alongside programmers from India who are taking over tasks formerly done by Americans, a process his company calls Knowledge Transfer, or KT.

"With the crash of the technology sector and overseas outsourcing, thousands of U.S. jobs are disappearing and salaries are under pressure.

"'It is unprecedented, the turn of fortune that has occurred in the high-tech industry,' said Marcus Courtney, president of the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers in Seattle. Read More

Threat of Outsourcing Causing Union Growth

As more and more business operations are sent from the U.S. to offshore locations, white collar workers are banding together in attemots to increase their bargaining power and ensure job security.

From the Arizona Republic:

"'I get a call from Intel, I get a call from Microsoft, I get calls from places we never used to get calls,' said Andy Banks, organizing director for the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers in Silver Spring, Md.

"The issue's potency was proved last month when the Communications Workers of America negotiated a contract with SBC Communications Inc. after a four-day strike.

"Numbers of U.S. high-tech and service jobs that have been moved overseas are relatively small, but a report last month said the pace is quickening." Read More

ITAA Releases Outsourcing Report

From India Express:

"Amidst intensified campaign against outsourcing of jobs to countries like India, a study by Information Technology Association of America has found that offshoring is of 'great benefit' to the United States.

"In future, US economy will operate more efficiently and create more than twice the number of jobs displaced, with high wages.

"Given the benefits that accompany offshore spending by US firms, ITAA said, 'it would be unwise to enact protectionist legislation or regulations as a result of political pressures being created by this economic transition.'" Read More

The Mercury News: "Outsourcing may generate jobs -- in Fremont"

MercuryNews.com reports:

"Infosys Technologies, which has become India's second-largest software maker thanks largely to outsourced work from the West, is investing $20 million to create nearly 500 consulting jobs in the United States.

"The company has set up a subsidiary in Fremont to provide business consulting to American corporations. The new company, Infosys Consulting, has begun 'aggressive hiring in America,' Infosys chief executive officer Nandan Nilekani told reporters today."

US Economy Benefits from Outsourcing

The Times of India reports:

"The US economy as a whole gains in many areas, including overal job creation, as a result of outsourcing to countries like India, according to a study.

"Jobs lost to Information Technology outsourcing last year totalled 104,000 -- 2.8 per cent of IT jobs in the US, but the Gross Domestic Product was USD 34 billion higher last year because of outsourcing and this created more than 90,000 net new jobs, Bruce Bartlett, Senior Fellow with National Centre for Policy Analysis, a US think tank, said quoting a study by consulting firm Global Insight.

"...By 2008, the GDP will be USD 124 billion greater and number of new jobs created by outsourcing will rise to 317,000, though the new jobs are almost entirely outside IT, the study said."

March Job Growth Surges by 308,000

The winds may be changing in the "Jobless Recovery." The Boston Globe reports:

"The recovering US economy created 308,000 jobs in March, the largest monthly increase in nearly four years. The unexpectedly strong numbers rebutted talk of a 'jobless recovery,' which has become a major issue in the presidential campaign.

"Almost every industry showed healthy growth in its payrolls, particularly construction, which bounced back because of good weather, and retail, which was sparked by the return of striking California grocery workers to their jobs."

Bruce Bartlett: Republicans 'Against' Outsourcing, in Favor of 'Getting Votes'

Bruce Bartlett writes for TownHall.com:

"Reluctantly, Republicans have concluded that the outsourcing issue is not going away... With polls showing growing numbers of Americans apprehensive that their jobs may soon be sent to China or India, Republicans eventually recognized that a more appropriate response was needed. According to a March 21 poll by Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg, respondents cited a fear of jobs being outsourced overseas 43 percent of the time when asked about America's most serious economic problems."

As the article states, the number of Americans at risk for losing employment because of outsourcing is certainly significantly less than 43 percent. Perhaps a strong dose of objective information, not rhetoric, is what the average American voter needs.

New Outsourcing Report: American Jobs On the Way

The Taipei Times is running a story about a new report by the Information Technology Association of America. The report claims that although outsourcing has caused some American job losses, the numbers pale in comparison to those lost during the 2000 dot-com bust. Additionally, outsourcing is fueling economic growth and may actually result in net job growth.

"Greater profits theoretically allow companies to buy new equipment, build laboratories and conduct scientific experiments -- even in expensive Silicon Valley and other US tech hubs.

"Savings from outsourcing allowed companies to create 90,000 new jobs last year, with more than one in 10 of them in Silicon Valley or elsewhere in California, researchers said. The report predicts that in 2008, outsourcing will create 317,000 jobs -- 34,000 in California."

IT Job Growth: There's Room for India, China AND the US

Credit to the Ecommerce Times:

"The angst about the loss of high-tech, white-collar jobs is busting out all over, from the covers of Time and BusinessWeek magazines to the stump speeches of presidential candidate John Kerry...

"Yet a growing number of experts are speaking up to argue that the 'offshoring' crisis is seriously overblown, particularly when it comes to information technology jobs.

"'Despite all this hysteria, we still grew IT jobs by 10 percent last year...'" Read more

Anti-Outsourcing Bus Tour to Begin Next Week

ContraCostaTimes reports on bus tour scheduled for recently unemployed workers.

"Natasha Humphries, a former employee of Palm Computing who trained her replacement in India before losing her job, will represent California in an anti-outsourcing bus tour next week protesting job loss in America, labor advocates said Friday.

"Humphries will depart Monday from the front of an IBM facility in San Jose and join representatives from all 50 states in St. Louis on Wednesday for an 8-day tour. The AFL-CIO is sponsoring public events on unemployment and overseas job flight for the delegates, who will visit 18 cities in eight states before arriving in Washington at the end of the month."

Some have suggested that the AFL-CIO should consider the possibility of retraining workers.