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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zanswer09aug09.story HP's pulling of Compaq call-center contract puzzles Broward By Doreen Hemlock Business Writer Posted August 9 2002 News that computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. is pulling a contract from a Fort Lauderdale call center and shifting some of its business to lower-cost India prompted a mix of reactions Thursday. Economic development officials gave assurances that Florida's strong call-center business continues to grow, while a Broward County commissioner suggested a boycott of HP products. Commissioner Sue Gunzburger said she'll ask the County Commission on Tuesday to halt new purchases of HP printers for Broward, now that HP is ending a contract with The Answer Group that could mean the loss of up to 1,200 Broward jobs within 90 days. If they want to take jobs offshore, they should sell their printers offshore

well-educated labor force. For the record, I have no problem with jobs moving off shore:  competition is the capitalist ideal, and where off-shore labor can compete better it should win (and will help keep American brands competitive world-wide).  I don't believe that American workers have some God-given right to make a better wage than others who can do equivalent work. I also have no problem with those who choose to 'buy American', as long as they don't equate those who don't with some sort of lack of patriotism. But my few experiences with Indian call centers have not been all that good (of course, experiences with U.S. call centers also are all too often not all that good).  In particular, I suspect that there is benefit in having at last some moderate amount of personal (face to face) contact between call-center personnel and the engineers who understand the product rather than having 'Chinese walls' that keep the engineers from being bothered while the call-center people fumble around with something they've never encountered before - and 10,000 miles of separation makes a pretty decent wall. Of course, Florida is also a fair distance from where most engineering is done.  I suspect that means that out-sourcing call centers for technically-complex products, regardless of the physical location of the call center, may be a fairly good measure of just how much importance a corporation places on customer satisfaction. - bill

The call centre here in Ottawa, Canada, has experienced a 50% reduction in the workforce since HP bought Compaq. They did French and English support for Microsoft and Compaq. OK, so HP is an American firm and they can do what they want. but, few people in India can afford to purchase a PC let alone a decent house. That being the case, should the business not be compelled morally at least to employee people where it markets it's products? Would HP not get upset and cry fowl if an Indian firm suddenly showed up with the same product set, but substantially cheaper to buy. In fact, maybe that is the answer, we should go and purchase Indian products. rtt

: Hey, why not?  Many companies are placing call centers in India.  Cheap and : well-educated labor force.   : : We don't see this as a trend (!!!!), said high-tech consultant Michael : Langley, former president of the Broward Alliance and now an adviser to the : state's development group, Enterprise Florida.  Whoa, what has Mr. Langley : been ingesting?  The trend toward moving jobs offshore is on-going and has : been for some time. : : I called IBM recently to inquire about parts.  Got to speak to a couple of : people in India, for sure. : : Globalization cuts both ways.  It helps the global companies cut costs : considerably.  It costs Americans jobs.  The question is what sort of : national policy do we have in place to deal with loss of jobs offshore : and to people entering the country on H1-B visas?  The answer, of course, : is No policy, because politicians of both parties are bought and paid : for by large multinational companies, and they no longer represent : individual Americans. : : ... Ben Myers : No government agency is chartered to track offshore job relocations and their resultant impact on tax reveues.    http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E33%257E510226,00.html    Laid-off tech, telecom workers embrace job centers    [snip]   But the job that will grow most in the future may be disappointing to    those white-collar workers accustomed to $80,000 to $100,000 salaries    of the dot-com heyday.    Most of Colorado's job growth over the next six years will be in    fields like retail sales, office clerks and cashiers - jobs that pay    less than $21,490 a year... The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that the three occupations with the largest job growth between now and 2010 are retail sales, cashiers, and office clerks