It may well be that griping about the offshoring of IT is a bit like railing against the wind or the rain, since there doesn't seem to be much anyone can do about it. But even as the economy shows some signs of life, it is still an issue that seems very much on the minds of readers.
Of course, one reason it's on their minds is that some are just getting the bad news from their employers. "I barely finished reading the story about how IT jobs and salaries are continuing to slide when I was called into the CIO's office," one reader wrote. "Half the staff are history, and it looks like the rest of us are only hanging around to train the replacements in India. Even the CIO thinks he'll be gone in six months."
Readers are also concerned about IT organizations' use of overseas workers brought into the U.S. on H1-B and/or L-1 visas. "There are plenty of Americans who want these jobs and they are at least as well qualified," wrote one reader. "The short-sighted greed of Ameican companies who hire H1-B workers at sub-standard wages is amazing to me. What's worse, in my opinion, are the companies that promise to keep their high tech jobs here in America and then outsource to a 'local' company that brings in all its workers from overseas."
Some readers believe that offshoring raises issues that go beyond lost jobs. "At Intel, a global effort is being made to outsource the IT departments to India and China for the obvious reasons, but not much thought has been given to the significant impact transfer of things like human resource records can have," wrote a former Intel employee. "A personal encounter I had with one issue supports this. A fab plant in China started requesting different fields be included in the Peoplesoft application database for things such as the employee's preference in religion. In America that would be illegal, but in a foreign country it might be required as a matter of law ... Imagine how much of Intel's HR database is now available in China or India, and how that information might be misused. And the shame of it all there is nothing to stop this from happening."
Of course, offshoring isn't just a concern for IT workers. "I wonder how long before we get to be a third world country, too," wrote a reader witnessing offshoring in the financial industry. "I'm not an isolationist, but when we are outsourcing our food, water, clothing, and now money, I get a teensy bit worried. Well, maybe the grandkids will get it all back the way other countries did by nationalizing it. Then State Farm and National Bank will have real meaning."
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