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Google Lawsuit Exposes Microsoft Offshoring Deal

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the everybody-is-doing-it dept.

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?"

4 of 429 comments (clear)

  1. Makes sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Microsoft can't keep buying the U.S. government off forever; eventually, someone is going to assume the U.S. presidency who will actually allow the department of justice to enforce antitrust law and hold it for long enough for a case against Microsoft to be litigated.

    It would be good if before that happens, Microsoft could hedge their bets with a nation that can truly understand and respect them. China understands that capitalism should be used as a tool of oppression, not a tool to fight it, so they're the perfect escape from any other nation who might sit up once in awhile, remember that monopolies hurt markets, and try to meddle in the internal affairs of a company just because they're committing injustice or breaking the law or something. Rupert Murdoch is big on China for the exact same reason.

  2. This Lawsuit will be the Gift that Keeps on GIving by putko · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So this is the 2nd or 3rd time this lawsuit has produced interesting titbits about M$. This thing is going to be the gift that keeps on giving. Get the popcord and sit back and watch.

    I somehow suspect that M$ will continue coming off as anti-human, anti-worker and just plain nasty.

    --
    http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/when_to_s tone_your_children/dt21_18a.html
  3. Re:Oh dear. by Dicky · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I offshored myself.

    Until early this year, I worked for Sun in the UK. They decided, in their infinite lack-of-wisdom, to close my office and lay everyone off (and have been trying to hire some people back ever since realising what a stupid move that was), pretty much because they thought they could replace us with much cheaper employees in Bejing.

    So I went and got myself a job in Hong Kong - like Bejing, only a lot more expensive, widely English-speaking, and bloody civilised :-) And, no joking, I'm off to hear RMS speak here in a few minutes - I'm interested more in the reaction to him from the audience than what he has to say - not because I'm not interested in what he has to say, but because I've heard him say it before...

    --
    Paranoia isn't an infectious condition, it's a way of life
  4. they're sincere... by cahiha · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think Microsoft has had a very bad influence on CS job prospects (note: MCSE is not a CS job). However, the fact that they are now having to go to China is a case of being hoisted by their own petard; after they destroyed most of the interesting R&D jobs, they don't have a choice but to go to China. So, I think Gates's lamentations are sincere; he probably doesn't even understand what he has done to CS research in this country.

    In any case, even without Microsoft's destructive influence, Chinese high-tech workers would still be competing with US high-tech workes. And the Chinese government is fully within its rights to demand that any company doing business with/in China move jobs there--the US government is doing the same thing.