Outsourced Jobs

What is outsourcing? Some define it as subcontracting a service, like product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company. In the real world, outsourcing means to fire local employees to hire cheaper labor elsewhere. In today’s world, American companies outsource to reduce cost and maximize profits for executives and CEOs. This is the number one reason why companies tend to outsource. Often times companies can find cheaper labor through outsourcing and if the level of quality is about the same then the “smart” thing to do would be to outsource. This is why companies like Walmart can afford to sell things at low prices. But the same thing that is making products more affordable here in the U.S is also damaging our economy and negatively affecting the countries we outsource to.

By 2015, analysts predict that more than three million jobs in the United States will be moved out to other countries. Which country will get most of these jobs? India is the leading recipient of jobs that involve software development, accounting, human resources and data analysis. Other places like the Philippines, Russia, China, Canada, Mexico and countless others will take on more of the manufacturing jobs. The workers in these countries are paid extremely low wages so the company saves money in labor costs. While a worker might be paid $16 and hour in America, a job elsewhere might be $2 an hour. But there are risks when it comes to moving jobs overseas. Products can be defective or even toxic. We are all familiar with the unsafe products that are made in China and are imported into the United States. Another problem is that many employees in call centers have a problem with communication due to different languages and cultures. Security is also a huge issue when it comes to outsourcing. In April 2005, there was a case that involved the theft of $350,000 from Citibank customers when workers at the call center found the passwords to customer accounts. The call center workers transferred the money to their own accounts and opened under fake names. Citibank was not aware of the theft until the American customers noticed the discrepancies with their accounts.

The majority of the public in the United States is strongly against outsourcing.
Many are angry that American jobs are being taken away when people need them most. In this economy, people are desperate for jobs but are fired or turned away because they can’t compete with foreign workers who are payed drastically less. When there is massive unemployment, the entire economy can be threatened.
A poll conducted in 2004 found that 71% of Americans believed that outsourcing jobs overseas hurt the economy. Another 62% believed that the United States government should take some sort of legal action against the companies that decide to transfer domestic jobs overseas. Legislative action could be in the form of increased taxes on companies that outsource. Revenue taxes would be the most succesfull way to keep companies from outsourcing.

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