Layoff

My company just has another layoff today. The headquarter is safe, they only closed the Ottawa site. The CEO held a staff update but his talk is just the same old bullshit. I joked with my co-workers that I know how to say those BS too, maybe I can become a CEO. In the afternoon, the department VP host a Q&A session regarding the layoff. I asked him why don’t we pick Portland site, which is even smaller than Ottawa. He answered there are projects going in that site, so no plan to shut it down, but he hinted they are the next one to go. He also said the company outsourcing the project of Ottawa to India. Then I made a comment that this decision doesn’t make sense. We are taking in the Wipro guys on site, so we are essentially training Wipro’s employee. Why don’t we hire those guys directly and cut out Wipro as the middleman. He said hiring contractors has the flexibility to expand and shrink the work force. This line leads to a decisive blow to the VP from a question asked by Saskatoon. Saskatoon asked how come the expansion is in India and the shrinking is here in N.America? The whole room simpily busted into laughters. I forgot how the VP BS his way out, but it seems no of us is very convinced by his answer.

Later after the meeting, I talked the director. He agrees with my observation, the whole outsourcing to India doesn’t make long term bussiness sense. In a few years, the cost advantage of outsoucing to India will disppear as the salary of the Indian guys are catching up really fast. I can understand we want to hire the talents who happen to be in Indian. However we should hire them and retain them as employees. People and the knowledge inside their brain is the most valuable asset of a high-tech company. Training contractors simpily defeat the whole idea of hiring contractor in the first place. I also talked to the director how the company isn’t following the best management practices outlined “Build to Last” I am reading. He encourage me write an email to the HR VP to voice my concernss. I will do it after I finish reading the whole book. I will make some comments on the management partice backed by sound management theory, send it off to the executives and see what will happen. That sounds kinda fun.