Stop Offshoring
Monday, September 25, 2006
I was talking to a former coworker who was lamenting the company's decision to outsource much of its software development to India. He didn't see why, after he and others had put in so much time and effort into building the software that runs the company, the company would cut them loose and replace them with programmers in India who wouldn't be able to do as good a job.
The irony of the situation is, my ex-coworker is an Indian H-1B employee. On the one hand, I feel for him because he was one of the few good developers at the company when I worked there, and I wonder what will happen to his visa status if he loses his job. However, surely he should be aware of the dangers of outsourcing more so than most, especially since he got his job at the company when the company hired a wave of Indian H-1Bs a few years ago.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
The company that I work for went through some layoffs recently. I won't disclose the reasons why or how many people were let go, but I found it frustrating that all of the layoffs occurred in the U.S. No one on the offshore team was let go. Even when rumors of layoffs were circulating and people were wondering if their jobs would be cut, no mention was made of cuts offshore. It was as if they were safe while we had to endure weeks of uncertainty. This is yet another example of how American companies treat their state-side employees like crap compared to their investments overseas.
Friday, September 01, 2006
This post isn't about offshoring per se, but I was wondering why so many companies endorse offshoring but not telecommuting? Why do managers think it's OK to have someone work on a project half a world away, but local employees should be chained to their desks, even though they are infinitely more accessible at home than someone in India or Asia who doesn't even wake up until most American workers have left the office for the day?
In my recent interviewing experiences, I found it hard to avoid a company that didn't offshore some aspect of their development. However, almost no companies offered telecommuting options for their employees.
This is yet another example of how stupid management is. I fear for the future of this country.
