IBM Explores Shift of White-Collar Jobs Overseas

The conventional wisdom on globalization in the US has held that unskilled jobs will gradually shift overseas, leaving American workers free to perform higher-paid, white-collar jobs. But now that IBM is considering moving millions of white-collar jobs to countries like India and China, politicians and technology workers are crying foul. Corporations like IBM argue that moving service jobs overseas keeps their companies competitive, holds costs down for American consumers, and helps to develop poorer nations while supporting overall employment in the United States by improving productivity and the nation's global reach. This rationale does little to calm the growing concerns of many politicians and employees, however. Indeed, there is speculation that off-shoring will result in unemployment, resentment of foreigners training in the US, and retaliatory unionization efforts. "Once those jobs leave the country, they will never come back," worries one computer company executive. – YaleGlobal