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IBM Moving Developer Jobs Overseas

helixcode123 writes "According to the New York Times (also on Yahoo News), IBM is planning on moving a substantial number of high level jobs overseas to 'India and other countries.' IBM argues, in essence, that they need to do this to stay competitive. The article quotes that Forrester Research '...estimated that 450,000 computer industry jobs could be transferred abroad in the next 12 years, representing 8 percent of the nation's computer jobs.'"

9 of 1,346 comments (clear)

  1. I am happy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll



    My name is Singh. I have MSc in Computer Sciences but can only get job as taxi driver. I hope IBM hire me as I am smart man, definately smartest taxi driver in New Delhi. Please Mr. IBM, come to New Delhi and ask for man named Singh driving cab. I will like to work for you and make many good programs.

    Yours respectfully,
    Mr. Singhbah Singh


  2. And when there is a war? by Kefaa · · Score: 1, Troll

    Two or five or 10 years from now, India and Pakistan get into a fight. Where is your code? Who will be maintaining it? What happens when your packaged software is suddenly competing with a product nearly identical from another country, but at half the price? Sue them? Where?

    Being a consultant I see company after company making the move to get $20/hour developers off-shore. Some make it work by playing with the numbers. Some make it work by comparing only salary. US Developer $60k, Indian developer $35k. Few ever cost justify the entire structure and impact. They don't want to know as most will be gone before the long term impact is seen.

    As for the language, time zone, etc. Those are all minor issues that most of the sale people brush aside as trivial. Giving polished presentations on cost savings and how developers have become a major corporate "expense." They are talking to your CIOs, CTOs, and CEOs telling them how to save millions on development and support costs.

    Your leadership will come out and tell you how we are going to work "hand in hand" with our overseas "team." Then after the transition, your position is no longer as valuable, or necessary. If you don't have a specialty niche, where being on-site is a major requirement, look for significant impact to you. Even if, as someone put it, you are the remaining 92%, your value will be driven by the going rate.

  3. Re:Bad for us, good for all by rkz · · Score: 0, Troll

    with the number of fat bastards living in America, I'm sure that Burger King, McDonalds and Subway will never be short of jobs. And as unemployment rises fat bastards will have more time on their hands to eat out....

    Recession? There is no fucking recession.

  4. Re:Time zone difference seen as an advantage? by Squidgee · · Score: 0, Troll
    Whoa.

    That 24/7 thing is actually very, very, very innovative. It's also a fucking awesome idea.

    Kudos to IBM for coming up with a good idea for making money/speeding up developement, not just a way to drive down costs.

    Now THAT is thought-driven business. Shows you why IBM has been around for so long.

  5. Programmers by nnnneedles · · Score: 1, Troll

    Programmers are the stupidest people on the planet.

    First they create tons of free software applications and then they complain when it's hard to find tech jobs.

    Well, half the market has been eroded by your own software, stupid! You should've used your skills to make a living, not to destroy your own employment market!

    --
    Will code a sig generator for food
  6. How many did we train? by mc6809e · · Score: 1, Troll

    This is something that has been bothering me for a long time now: the United States has payed to educate many of the people that will now be our competitors. This doesn't seem right.

    I've seen NSF grants given to faculty and grad students -- all Indian -- who will then take their results and education back to India to use in competition against us. I just completed an undergraduate course in where this was the case.

    I asked the TA/GA: "So, what are you going to do after you graduate?"
    He said, "Go back to India".

    The fact is that Education spending and Science research dollars are being used to Educate and train our competitors. We're being taxed to cut our own throats.

    The logic behind public education is this: people that get educated can take that education somewhere else, so it doesn't make sense for a business to invest all that money is someone who will go elsewhere. So we get everyone to share paying for education. This way, one company doesn't get stuck with the bill with the others reap the rewards.

    This doesn't work when the companies in places like India don't have to help pay for that education through taxes.

    We also are forced to pay for other expenses of foreign student that default on debt. A very popular way right now to pay for food, housing etc, is to run up credit card debt, then leave the country with your shining new degree -- never to return.

  7. Re:I'm going to go down for this. by sinuosity.net · · Score: 0, Troll
    You can't be serious. But in case you are...

    Well, it appears you have ALREADY gone down, so to speak. I'd like to know whose d*ck at IBM you're sucking- they've got you brainwashed. You're being awfully short sighted. Who do you think buys the majority of products that support IBM economically? Certainly not people in Punjab. You got it, people like you and me- and the companies we work for. Thankfully there are *some* tech/infrastructure companies that seem to "get it" and aren't taking the quickest fix.

    See another post I made from not too long ago.
    my comments...@

    Your assertions are totally wrong, sorry.

    "....but something that can benefit more people outside of the software development industry"

    Yeah, like bartenders for all the drunks and drug dealers for all the people that will be addicted to smack. Have fun in Hyperabad...watch out for those Russells Vipers...one bite will make you bleed out of your ass/eyes/mouth/nose etc..

  8. Re:The problem is the lack of social equity by RodgerDodger · · Score: 0, Troll

    I can dig competing for my labor costs on the strength of my skills, but I can't compete with developers who make $5,850 a year, because I can't even rent a hole in the wall in my city for that yearly income, let alone feed myself.


    Then you live in an area that's too expensive. Maybe you should move to India?
    --
    "Software is too expensive to build cheaply"
  9. Re:best Indian engineers come to US by Grishnakh · · Score: 0, Troll

    Simple: they don't pay them back. They just default. They're not coming back to the US, so how are US credit companies going to make them pay?