Tentative agreement would end 52-day machinists walkout
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Oct 28, 08 3:44 CDT
(Newser)
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Boeing's 27,000 striking machinists could be back to work within days if they approve a deal hammered out with the help of a federal mediator late last night, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The deal will give machinists a 15% pay increase over four years and limit the amount of work outside companies can perform in Boeing plants. Job security has been the central issue for strikers.
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analysis
Rising costs of business are more powerful than 'backshoring' trned
strategy+business Oct 22, 08 9:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Reports of the death of outsourcing have been greatly exaggerated, three specialists in the field write in strategy+business . While a few big companies such as Dell and Apple have scaled back on customer service operations overseas, these decisions remain the exception to the rule, no matter what you read in the mainstream business press. The practice simply makes too much economic sense to disappear.
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Firm may find compromise on crucial outsourcing issue
Seattle Times Oct 22, 08 3:16 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Boeing’s CEO is confident that the next round of talks could resolve a costly strike by its machinists union, the Seattle Times reports. With formal negotiations set to resume tomorrow, Jim McNerney thinks headway can be made on the pivotal issue of outsourcing the production of parts traditionally fashioned by the machinists.
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Outsourced call centers get ring-side seat for economic crash
Washington Post Oct 14, 08 9:49 CDT
(Newser)
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Most Indian call center employees develop a fairly utopian view of the US, which seems a land of brand-name splendor and plenty. Not so at Aegis BPO Services, a call center specializing in debt collection, where employees are getting an up-close and personal look at the credit crunch. “It’s like people are totally drowning,” said one caller. “There has just been years of overspending and now: the crash.”
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Economic slump adds challenge for industry pondering next steps
Wall Street Journal Aug 20, 08 10:00 CDT
(Newser)
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The credit crunch that has shifted the US economy into neutral has slowed the growth of India’s tech sector, which once boasted growth rates of 40% in the overall strong economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The slowdown comes as the sector faces increasing competition from abroad and rising labor costs at home, and a weak dollar eating into profit margins.
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OPINION
Growing trend of traveling for health care doesn't have to hurt anyone
Economist Aug 15, 08 2:28 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The spread of “medical tourism”—uninsured and underinsured patients seeking cheap health care in Southeast Asia or Latin America—has fueled fears that developing nations will divert resources from state health systems caring for their own citizens. But, the Economist argues, “if governments make the best of the boom, then medical tourism should improve the health of rich and poor alike.”
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Rising costs curb manufacturers' outsourcing
Wall Street Journal Jun 13, 08 11:30 CDT
(Newser)
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As costs for overseas production and shipping soar, US companies are growing reluctant to outsource manufacturing—and some are even bringing their plants back to America, the Wall Street Journal reports. “In a world of triple-digit oil prices, distance costs money," said an economist. But it’s not just the transport: Raw materials are getting pricier, and workers abroad are calling for more money.
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Community looks to election for solution to Bangalore's crumbling infrastructure
Reuters May 20, 08 3:01 PM CDT
(Newser)
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For years, Bangalore—India’s answer to Silicon Valley—has endured traffic jams, power blackouts and a chaotic airport that businesses blame on politicians who’ve ignored the city’s IT elites to court rural voters. Now, Reuters reports, an updated constituency map giving urban voters more clout has hope high for change after state elections end Thursday.
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Cheaper and better workers draw American agencies overseas
New York Times Apr 24, 08 2:20 PM CDT
(Newser)
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As individuals' debt grows in a tough economy, US debt-collection agencies are expanding into India, where collectors work more cheaply—and are often better, the New York Times reports. Indian collectors are “very polite, very respectful, and they don’t raise their voice,” says one CEO. And a big payout in India can be a quarter of the salary American collectors expect.
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Uninsured find cheap, top-flight care there; your HMO could be next
Chicago Tribune Mar 28, 08 2:32 PM CDT
(Newser)
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India is a top destination for uninsured Americans needing major surgery, the Chicago Tribune reports, with prices up to 85% lower than US rates. Last year, India welcomed 150,000 medical tourists, the Chicago Tribune reports—and now, HMOs want a piece of those savings. “Employers may soon follow in the footsteps of individuals,” a recent American Medical Association report concluded.
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OPINION
Lawmakers are angry, but making aircraft giant compete is a good thing
Time Mar 9, 08 9:45 CDT
(Newser)
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There’s fury on Capitol Hill (and the campaign trail) over a $40 billion Air Force contract going to a European team, Mark Thompson notes in Time , but it’s entirely appropriate for the military to get the best technology it can. Indeed, anger over the snub to Boeing shows lawmakers at their worst, worrying about hometown pork instead of defense needs.
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Demand for skilled labor will fuel another application rush
ComputerWorld Mar 7, 08 8:11 PM CST
(Newser)
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The US is expecting a record number of applications for H-1B visas—given to highly skilled, specialized foreign workers—and is considering rules to penalize companies that try to improve their chances, ComputerWorld reports. Desperate firms have been known to send more than one application—123, 480 were received last year; 65,000 are awarded—for the same individual to increase odds of being selected.
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But investors disappointed in year's revenue forecast—shares fall 1.3%
Associated Press Jan 11, 08 2:21 PM CST
(Newser)
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Infosys saw its profit go up 25.6% int the October to December quarter, the Indian company said Friday. It credited tax refunds and new outsourcing jobs: the company added 47 clients, including an unnamed European bank and a global brokerage firm, reports AP. Infosys raised its 2007 revenue forecast slightly, but not enough to match investors’ expectations, and its shares dropped by 1.3%.
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