Google Lawsuit Exposes Microsoft Offshoring Deal

2old2rockNroll writes "In more news from Microsoft's Google lawsuit, it appears that Ballmer's 2003 trip to China may have had as much to do with Microsoft moving jobs as selling software. It seems that the Chinese are not pleased with the number of jobs being moved to China, and one of Lee's duties was to identify jobs for export. Although hiring in Redmond has slowed, a Microsoft spokesperson admits they are "growing their work force" in China. Is it possible that Bill Gates' recent lament over the decline of US CS graduates and research spending was merely crocodile tears?"

Comments

Crocodile tears

[adrenaline_junky]

I may be the only fool here who had no idea what "crocodile tears" are, but according to http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cro1.htm, "to weep crocodile tears is to pretend a sorrow that one doesn't in fact feel, to create a hypocritical show of emotion. The idea comes from the ancient belief that crocodiles weep while luring or devouring their prey."

So now I know.

Re:Crocodile tears

[DNS-and-BIND]

It's not a "belief", some species of crocodiles weep when they devour their prey. The tears help lubricate the swallowing.

China has its own agenda

[Lonewolf666]

In other news, you can often read that China allowed some foreign investment only if the investor makes significant concessions in form of technology transfer. Frequently, this takes the form of requiring a partnership with a chinese company. This way, the chinese make sure they get their part of the profits and get their hands on the know-how.

If Microsoft think they have a cushy retreat in China, they are in for a nasty surprise. As much as I dislike the way Chinese government tramples human rights, their ways of keeping greedy corporations in their place deserves some respect.

Re:Hang on

[Belsical]

I'm a developer at Microsoft and I've worked with devs located in India, China, and the UK. You couldn't be more incorrect about, well, anything you said. I just visited the Beijing offices and they were just like ours in the Redmond. These are not contractors. They are full time employees delivering important components of large products. Their interview process is the same, they're paid the same wages (adjusted to cost of living for that region), and given the same benefits. Their review process is the same - based on quality, not quantity of code.

Devs from India come to Redmond to meet with developers here and they're welcomed with open arms. They're treated the same as other devs. They come out to lunch with us, attend morale events, company functions, etc.

We're an international company...and we hire internationally. Get over it. We're going to hire smart people all over the world. We always have, it's just that now there are options other than having them move half-way around the world.

Re:Apart from bad mouthing Microsoft...

[2old2rockNroll]

why is this significant again? Companies offshore all the time. Hell, some companies move their headquarters to different continents.

Perhaps it's significant because Microsoft is whining about declining CS enrollment and lobbying the government for an increase in the H-1B cap, when they really aren't doing much local hiring. It is significant because what they say for publication is a lie, and their real interest is solely in cheaper labor. It also seems significant that they are apparently buying Chinese cooperation in anti-piracy efforts with jobs that currently belong to American workers. It gives new meaning to the term human capital.

Re:Hang on

[mpaque]

they're paid the same wages (adjusted to cost of living for that region)

Nice out, that. I'm sure the MSFT hiring managers would be happy to hire folks with a Masters in CS and 5-10 years experience within the US if they could only get them to work for 21,200 USD/year. (Starting salary in China for a BS in CS was 13,300 USD/year from the 2003 EE Survey.)

Re:Time to Retire C + +?'

[bladesjester]

It's not a troll. It's satire, really.

That sort of thing seems to be lost on a lot of the people who responded to it.

MS in China: trying to have its cake and eat it

[hsuwh]

MS has been trying to build bridges to China for more than seven years: first in founding Microsoft Research China (now MSR Asia), a pure research facility that eventually became an R&D wing. Kai-Fu Lee, the former exec being sued for going to Google, founded MSR China in 1998 and came back to Redmond in 2000.

Several years back Ballmer shook hands on a $100M outsourcing plsu $20M investment deal that senior management found it hard to live up to, and so they amended it to $55M in jobs and $60M in investments in Chinese IT.

If you look at the Seattle Times article, there are links to the court filings, including KFL's deposition, where he indicates that a major part of his work on MS's international business since coming back to the states, has been keeping MS from making blunders. These include making ill-advised promises that it hasn't been able to live up to, and (if it had) would have meant outsourcing at a rate that would strip American jobs, despite its assurances.

Mirosoft's China strategy is starting to fall apart as its hiring has slowed stateside and it becomes evident that it's trying to have its cake and eat it too.