Reliant Energy takes back outsourced IT projects

[OhioChick]

Source: ComputerWorld

Documents reveal new internal IT team includes H-1b workers hired from outsourcer

January 29, 2010 02:55 PM ET

Computerworld - Reliant Energy, a Houston-based utility, hired 46 IT workers by the end of last year to work on projects previously done by Accenture under a since-canceled outsourcing contract.

Reliant's decision last year to end the outsourcing contract and bring the work back in-house at first appeared to be simply a story about job creation. But it quickly became fodder in the debate over the relationship between H-1B visa workers and companies that receive U.S. stimulus spending.

Reliant outsourced some of its IT jobs to Accenture in 2005. The Houston Chronicle reported at the time that the utility would be cutting 100 of its 340 IT jobs due to the outsourcing move, though some of the affected workers were to be offered jobs with Accenture.

Last year, Reliant reversed itself and decided to take the outsourced work back in-house. Last summer, the utility began advertising for IT workers, and posted nine notices of intent with the U.S. Department of Labor to hire H-1B visa holders for some of these positions. The intent notices, part of the DOL's certification process, were leaked to the Programmers Guild.




Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9150020/Reliant_Energy_takes_back_outsourced_IT_projects

[ChromeFoundry]

1. K&R n/t