naked capitalism: IBM Offshoring Its North American Employees

Interesting times for IBM employees; see the full post for more context, and also see IBM's Palmisano: Tech's slumdog millionaire in InfoWorld

Apparently America is not becoming a banana republic quickly enough to suit some big US companies.
I heard last week that a friend's sister, 57 years old and a very long standing IBM employee, had been offered the choice of either losing her job, or being sent to India or Latin America. In the old days, an offshore posting was a perk, or at least not a bad thing financially, since the employer would provide various expat subsidies to make up for meaningful additional costs (such as filing extra tax returns, higher housing costs when applicable, etc.),. The general intent was to make them whole (and some used the subsidies as a way to sweeten the pot, since that sort of move is disruptive personally, particularly for employees with school-age children).
Clearly, those perks don't apply here. A CNN article describes that the jobs on offer are in third world countries, at local wages. IBM is proving only some assistance with moving and visas. Given the cost of hiring and getting new workers up to speed, IBM probably comes out ahead on those few who decide to participate.

naked capitalism: IBM Offshoring Its North American Employees