The dollar has fallen a lot recently. That's a legitimate macroeconomic reason for this kind of shift.
But there are a few confounding factors, too. First, from an employer's perspective, it is hard to deal with Brazilian employees from a legal standpoint (firing, hiring, etc). Second, the difference in costs between skilled Brazilian workers and skilled Floridans might be smaller than the difference between unskilled Brazilians and unskilled Floridans. Third, since Embraer produces for the Brazilian government, this might be an arrangement between the US government and the Brazilian government to improve the trade balance between the two countries (Brazil makes cheap steel, and only a few US producers, like Nucor, can compete with it).
I looked up Brazil's per capita income and it's just under $5k a year. The jobs mentioned pay $50k a year. I posted that in a comment at the blog, it has not exited moderation yet :-(
One should not copy Greenspun's headlines casually from venue to venue. Greenspun has a particular style, one which thrives on irony, drama, and the occasional dollop of literary exaggeration. :)
In fact, the linked article does not argue that Brazilian labor is more expensive than that in the U.S. All we can conclude is that, taking all factors into consideration, cheaper foreign labor isn't driving Embraer to avoid the USA. Given that aviation is a heavily regulated, litigated, and taxed field, that doesn't tell us much -- maybe building jets in the USA for US customers saves a bunch of tariffs, or takes advantage of a tax loophole, or saves delivery costs or supply costs.
I looked up Brazil's per capita income and it's just under $5k a year. The jobs mentioned pay $50k a year.
Well, to be fair, "aviation assembly worker" might be a relatively high-paying job in Brazil. The cost of "workers" and the cost of "skilled workers suitable for careers in your aircraft factory" are two different things. But, again, the article gives us no clues whatsoever.
I would argue that this is trolling/linkbait and not much more. And that's isn't coming out of ignorance of Philip's writings, I've read most (all) of his stuff and once bought extra copies of Philip and Alex's Guide to give away as gifts.
Anyone try hiring offshore dev or designers lately? Some of these guys want more than I would have to pay someone locally from craigslist. Are Americans the new Indians?
Unfortunately, while the dollar is finally falling in a way that will help reinvigorate the US industries that the strong dollar helped to injure or kill over the last decade, the sharp fall in the dollar's value is also a big pain -- higher inflation, higher interest rates, and all at a time when the real cost of oil is shooting up.
I'm certainly not surprised to see developers in foreign countries demanding comparable salaries to developers in the USA. Are they supposed to be altruists, cheerfully working for less than their market value just because their local cost-of-living is so much lower? ;)
But there are a few confounding factors, too. First, from an employer's perspective, it is hard to deal with Brazilian employees from a legal standpoint (firing, hiring, etc). Second, the difference in costs between skilled Brazilian workers and skilled Floridans might be smaller than the difference between unskilled Brazilians and unskilled Floridans. Third, since Embraer produces for the Brazilian government, this might be an arrangement between the US government and the Brazilian government to improve the trade balance between the two countries (Brazil makes cheap steel, and only a few US producers, like Nucor, can compete with it).