Outsourcing U.S. Jobs

Outsourcing U.S. Jobs

Critical Thinkin

November 28, 2012

Introduction

Every year there are millions of jobs that are taken away from Americans and transferred overseas to third world or developing countries such as India, China, Canada, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Burma, Hong Kong, Mexico, and Panama ( Ruggiero, V., 2012). The changes in business operations we are experiencing now are the continuation of a trend that started back in the 1960’s and 1970’s when some of the automobile companies shipped jobs off to Japan (Tyler D., 2011). Many companies chase low cost labor markets to gain competitive advantages. Most U.S. companies make job migration decisions based on costs and the benefits their company will gain. One big reason for outsourcing is that improvements in worker safety and wages have increased the cost in manufacturing in America. China possess a much lower standard of safety and wages, they work in sweat shops nearly piled on top of one another with barely any elbow room to perform their work, for only pennies an hour. It is way too often that companies ignore both the economic cost and ethical implication of these lower standards.

Unfair Outsourcing

Many working class Americans believe that outsourcing jobs overseas is very harmful to the workforce. The biggest concern Americans have is that jobs that are sent overseas reduce the number of jobs available to the American workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of manufacturing jobs has been reduced by more than three million due to work being moved overseas (Whalen, C., 2005). The number of jobs being moved outside the U.S. is estimated to reach 3.4 million by 2015. Most of these jobs are software development, customer service, and manufacturing. The uncertainty of when these positions could be shifted abroad leaves many employees feeling the stresses of possibly losing their ability to earn a living and support their families.

The Growing U.S. Economy

The...