Big U.S. Firms Shift Hiring Abroad

[former9thward]

U.S. multinational corporations, the big brand-name companies that employ a fifth of all American workers, have been hiring abroad while cutting back at home, sharpening the debate over globalization's effect on the U.S. economy.

The companies cut their work forces in the U.S. by 2.9 million during the 2000s while increasing employment overseas by 2.4 million, new data from the U.S. Commerce Department show. That's a big switch from the 1990s, when they added jobs everywhere: 4.4 million in the U.S. and 2.7 million abroad.

The trend highlights the growing importance of other economies, particularly in rapidly growing Asia, to big U.S. businesses such as General Electric Co., Caterpillar Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

While hiring, firing, acquiring and divesting in recent years, GE has been reducing the overall size of its work force both domestically and internationally. Between 2005 and 2010, the industrial conglomerate cut 1,000 workers overseas and 28,000 in the U.S.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704821704576270783611823972.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

GE is subsidized doing this outsourcing by paying no taxes in the U.S. and getting a tax credit of $3.5 billion!

[OHdem10]

1. The unemployment crisis which remains in this country is the

result of poorly managed Trade Policy.

[RKP5637]

3. I'd go even one step further and call it catastrophically managed Trade Policy. n/t

[SoCalDem]

2. As English becomes more and more a universal language, it will only get worse

Countries all over the world have been teaching their school kids English for decades now...watch any "on the spot" reporter interview random people wherever they are in the world. These people speak English very well.. It's not to "impress" us, folks...it's been about the future of their country.

Globalization has been in the works ever since WWII. The language barrier mean that on-site foreign operators would have to be hired, and "US" companies might never really be sure what was being said, but as more and more people everywhere speak English, it's getting more "comfortable" for our companies to relocate, take advantage of low-low-wages, and still have an English-speaking workforce.

For a long time foreign places wanted to be "like" us, and now they ARE us.. they have our (former) jobs, and they are starting to achieve a standard of living that is getting better for them, instead of getting worse.. We used to have that..and we are ceding it to the rest of the world now..

Our leaders used to tell us that we were the envy of the world, and we needed to bring the rest up to our standard..the part we all seem to have missed, is that part of the deal was that we would go down as they go up.. that's the way a see-saw works.. both ends cannot be "up"..

[Vincardog]

4. We have always lived on the same globe. We used to have a sane trade policy that PROTECTED our

industries. That was before the financial parasites stole our democracy and foisted their fascist representatives on us.
They have totally corrupted the GOP and made big inroads into the Democratic party.

[RKP5637]

5. We've become nothing more than a slab of meat to some of these companies, and if

they can buy a slab of meat (labor) someplace else cheaper they will go there.

And as long as the stock market performs and investors are happy few give a F about the US. It's horrible but true. And that's the really cruel joke IMO about fixing unemployment in the US. Hence, the labor market will spiral downward in the US until labor costs balance globally.

Additionally, they want their taxes cut more and more, HA, so they can create jobs in the US. What a bunch of fool's BS. Many Americans are soooo gullible.

[gratuitous]

6. Boehner sez, "There's yer jobs, America!"

It's time for another round of tax cuts for corporations that don't pay any taxes in the first place, and aren't hiring in the U.S. anyway. Campaign contributions don't come cheap, you know.