Laid off IBM workers outsourced overseas

In its effort to cut costs and cope with the economic downturn, IBM is taking a novel approach by first dismissing some workers and then offering them a chance to remain with the company by moving to lower-wage countries like Brazil, India and China. IBM says the employees would have to work on "local terms and conditions,'' which is a not-so-subtle way of saying that they will have to accept the much lower local pay rates.

As part of what it calls Project Match, Big Blue will provide workers financial aid to offset moving costs, assistance with visas and other support to help ease the transition of an international move.

"What most of IBM's competitors are doing is just eliminating jobs and hiring people in India," said Robert Kennedy, a professor of business administration at the University of Michigan. "I would say from IBM's point of view, they're trying to meet people maybe not halfway, but a quarter of the way."

Kennedy told Computerworld.com that the appeal of a program like Project Match would likely be limited primarily to young people who don't have families or mortgages. It is estimated that IBM has made about 4,800 job cuts in the last few weeks.
 
For more on the IBM jobs move:
- see this Computerworld.com article

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