
IBM Offers To Move Laid Off Workers To India, China, and Brazil - chaostheory
http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/outsourcing/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=213000389
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shib71
Ofshoring not just work, but workers. I can see why a lot of people would be
sensitive about the idea, particularly given the current economic problems.

But I think if I were in that situation (financial freefall), a complete
reboot of my life could be appealing. Each country / city / company is
reacting to the upheaval differently, and IBM is offering a way to get in on
that.

Here in Australia for example, the vibe I get is that everyone needs to
tighten their belts a bit (or a lot) for a few years, but that's no reason we
can't still enjoy life. A big contrast with how those people are feeling now.

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gaius
But once you're there, how do you get back? Sure you might be well paid in
that market but if you're not earning Western money then you're starting again
from scratch when you return. And if you've been doing legacy work, with an
obsolete skillset too.

I can see how this would be good for IBM, I can't see how it would be good for
an individual worker.

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whatusername
Depends. How many of the workers in question may have originally come from (or
have family/friends) in India/China..

Still - you'd obviously be taking a substantial pay cut.

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Retric
If your taking more than a 30% pay cut your probably better off in the US.
Housing is cheaper but buying a new car, computer, etc is about the same
price. And you need to massively increase your retirement savings rate. You
also miss out on SS, Medicare etc.

Retiring to India can be a great Idea and doing so in your late 40's is vary
possible, but working there seems like a bad idea.

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mian2zi3
Intel made a similar offer to a group of engineers it laid off when I was
working there, around 2003. So many people took them up on it they blew their
budget and had to rescind the offer.

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utefan001
Brazil (Brasil) is an amazing country. The people of Brazil are, from my
experience, the best people in the world to live with. I spent 22 months in
Brazil during 1995 and 1996.

If you can't find a job where you are, sometimes you just have to move. Even
if moving is hard, you have to work. Move to another state or if you are lucky
Brazil! Portuguese is a beautiful language and not that hard to learn.

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caduardo21
I'd like to work in Brazil, it's fun there!

