ibm offers laid-off US employees chance to move to india?

feb 3rd, 2009

from the hard-facts-of-life department: that's where the markets are going to be, sweetheart. 

and on the bright side, the wages in india are appropriate for the cost of living in india, although they sound pitiful when converted to US$. it would be helpful to remember that the PPP multiplier is somewhere around 4 (or was until galloping inflation hit india, so it is probably 3). that is, multiply whatever you get in dollars by 4 (or 3) to get the actual value in goods and services, of your income in india. (eg. a haircut costs Rs. 100 in india, ie $2, whereas it would cost at least $10 in the US). 

from "good morning silicon valley"

Think of this layoff as your gateway to an exotic cross-cultural adventure: IBM may be quietly laying off thousands of workers (see "Careers abbreviated at AOL, SAP, IBM"), but it still has opportunities available. Displaced employees at its North American facilities, for instance, are being given an opportunity to gain firsthand insight into the world of cheap offshore labor.

According to an internal document obtained by InformationWeek, Big Blue has a program called Project Match that helps U.S. and Canadian workers whose jobs have been cut relocate to places where the company still has openings — specifically, developing markets like India, China and Brazil. "Should you accept a position in one of these countries," the notice explains, "IBM offers financial assistance to offset moving costs, provides immigration support, such as visa assistance, and other support to help ease the transition of an international move." The tradeoff? You have to be "willing to work on local terms and conditions," living on the low wages that helped undercut the domestic job you just lost.

The employee advocacy group Alliance@IBM sees the program as a slap in the face to go with the push out the door, saying, "IBM is not only offshoring IBM U.S. jobs but they want employees to offshore themselves through Project Match." The company, naturally, puts it in more positive terms. "It's more of a vehicle for people who want to expand their life experience by working somewhere else," said a spokesman. "A lot of people want to work in India."