It’s like one of those Japanese game shows where the more humiliation you can stomach, the more parting gifts you can leave with.
Workers asked to train foreign replacements
U.S. workers getting pink slips are told they can get another paycheck or beefed-up severance if they’re willing to teach workers from India, China and other countries how to do their jobs. The foreign workers typically arrive for a few weeks or months of training. When they leave, they take U.S. jobs with them. The U.S. employees who trained them are then laid off.
I know, I know, it’s just business, it’s not personal…but let’s examine what’s really being asked here. You, (yes, imagine it’s you) receive a pink slip. The company is offshoring your job to India or China. You don’t have another gig lined up and you’re not really qualified for one of those 308,000 new service industry jobs, you do have a mortgage and family to feed, and you will hope to get a good reference from the company offshoring your job…I mean, it’s not like they’re firing you because you’re incompetent…you’re just too expensive. And every last hour on the clock you can get, so to speak, you’re gonna need. The company has you over a barrel. What do you do? Say “F&*k you!, I’m outta here?” Feels good sure, but then there goes your severence and there goes any chance of unemployment benefits, not to mention it’s hardly gonna secure you a good reference letter.
You could turn to your local lawmakers though:
In a congressional hearing in February, some lawmakers denounced the training of replacements as “unconscionable.”
Seven in 10 information technology workers say they would support legislation requiring companies to inform local officials if they plan to use U.S. workers to train foreign replacements, according to the survey by the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, known as WashTech.
“This is the global economy hitting home,” says Marcus Courtney, president of WashTech, a union representing technology workers. “It raises serious moral issues. Maybe we need to look at banning this practice outright. For American workers, it’s a terrible situation to be in.”
It’s a shame that we have to legislate good manners in business. It’s also a shame there’s no choice for many people but to submit to this humiliation. It’s not without a cultural cost to the companies that do it though:
While some say they feel bitter toward the foreign workers who are getting their jobs, a number of workers who’ve trained their replacements save most of their antagonism for their former employers. Thirty percent of employers said offshoring has hurt morale at their companies in the USA, according to a March survey by benefits consultants Hewitt Associates. Eleven percent say it has had a negative impact on brand image.
You know, I think I’ll start a list of companies that do this and update y’all regularly. Feel free to rearrange your stock portfolios as your conscience sees fit…
From this report:
Boeing
WatchMark-Comnitel
J.P. Morgan Chase
Bank of America
to be continued….
This may be counter-intuitive — but sometimes firing is a good thing.
Now, I’ve been fired and I’ve had to fire, and, it ain’t real easy — but sometimes it’s the best for all concerned
As Firee:
The boss was a jerk; I was a smart-ass; it wasn’t a good fit; I was young; I was scared; I worried that I’d never work again; I nervously weathered the storm — within a few months had a much better job. The rest is history.
As Firer:
Guy went to Stanford; guy couldn’t write worth crap; guy was a spaz; guy was disorganized; guy offended a few important clients; guy was fired.
Saw guy 2 months ago; guy thanked me profusely; guy had great new job, great new girlfriend, great new suit; said he appreciated my candor and words of encouragement; guy said he needed a good kick in the pants; guy invited me to lunch.
So, sometimes it works out. Obviously, sometimes it don’t, so I ain’t tryin’ to be smug here.
But, sometimes the best thing going for you, is actually holdin’ you back from achievin’ sumptin’ much bettah.
My 2 cents.
Navy, all well and good on the change is for the better front, but you ignore the fact that these firings have nothing to do with pants-kicking or conflicts of personality. They’re impersonal resource adjustments. What are they going to say? “Thanks for teaching me the valuable lesson that Pakistanis can do my job for 1/10 the wages”
I can’t blame the corporations for treating their bottom line first. That’s what they’re paid to do. If someone wants to treat the employees, the customers, or the local economy first, that directive has to come from elsewhere. And it’ll have to involve people being willing to pay more for things, and turning back the tide of Walmartification.
Well, I ain’t a fan of “wallmartization.” But, I know why Mercedes opened up a factory in South Carolina — because German labor laws exceed rational purpose and handicap productivity.
And, I hazard a guess, that’s part of the reason jobs are leaving here to India and other places.
Capitalism has an element of “creative destruction” that cannot be eradicated.
I can’t imagine labor laws have much contribution when an $80,000 job here can be done in India for $20,000. It takes a lot of labor laws to add up to that delta. And therefore reforming them with that purpose won’t make any difference. My second pick would be employer-provided healthcare. Now if there were economic parity and we were still losing jobs, you’d be on solid ground, but even then the right solution is to enforce our (good) labor laws as part of trade agreements.
By the way, cool resource for all you CIOs
Navy, having blinked twice, all I can take from your April 6, 2004 06:06 PM post is that you are in favor of outsourcing to India because India has “better” labor laws than the US… ie, in India you can pay a person with equivalent qualifications far less to do the same job.
Begging for trouble…
Obsidian Wings: You’re Fired!…But before you go, would you mind humiliating yourself for us? Obsidian Wings reports that outsourced employees
I think that being the case has little or nothing to do with labor laws, Jesurgislac, and everything to do with local cost of living. Which is why some corporations are fleeing California for cheaper locations; the labor, land costs and tax rates are all far less elsewhere.
Tactics like this don’t always succeed; I can’t imagine Apple relocating to, say, middle Alabama.
Navy was the one who brought up “labor laws”, Slarti: take it up with him.
Labor laws can change the cost of labor. And not all labor laws are designed with the safety of employees in mind. I do think Navy ought to discuss why he brought up labor laws to begin with…it’s possible that other things being approximately equal, labor laws could be a valid reason for moving operations to other countries. But that’s not the case with US and India.