WaPo: Outsourcing U.S. jobs a source of tension on Obama's India trip

[Newsjock]

Source: Washington Post

... In the latest phase of globalization, some economists say, Silicon Valley is in danger of losing a sizable piece of its knowledge-based industry to India in much the same way Detroit lost its lead to Japan in the auto industry.

While the United States is still the innovation leader with global projects such as the iPhone, thousands of high-tech jobs with iconic companies like IBM and Accenture have been shipped to India.

"If you look at the historical evolution of globalization, this is simply the latest phase. The center of gravity has shifted, with cars moving to Japan, then low-cost manufacturing moving to China and now the more knowledge-intensive work flowing to India," said Partha Iyengar, head of research for Gartner India, a U.S.-based global IT research organization. "Unfortunately, this time the U.S. is feeling it."

... Some Indian IT leaders estimate that 350,000 American jobs have moved to India over the past decade, but American outsourcing experts say that number may be much higher. IT leaders in India say outsourcing does not hurt American companies but makes them more efficient and helps the U.S. economy by freeing up money for innovation and investments.

Outsourcing experts and advocates for American workers say that while outsourcing helps corporate America, American engineers and computer programmers see few benefits.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/06/AR2010110603920.html