Ahh, i'm too tired to start this globalization argument again.. All I can say is, "competition can be brutal" and that can cut both ways.

 

I'm a programer, let me tell you all about outsourcing.

Although, in the American worker's defense, the code which comes back is often terrible and bug ridden. I don't even want to look at the code which is outsourced to India, which is then outsourced to China. That may change as our project managers get better though, and the Indians learn more.

 

On that same line of thought, an Engineer in Kansas makes about $0.75-0.80 for every $1 one makes in Long Island. On the other hand the house I bought in Kansas here would cost about 7-8X more if it were there.
The Aerospace industry has been outsourcing Blue and White collar jobs for years, mainly to get plane orders from those countries, the lower cost probably doesn't hurt either.

 

The Canadian Engineer ducked!

 

Fixed it for ya

 

That is very true. The big-3's white collar workforce has been slowly, and for the most part quietly, shrinking for a few decades now. When the companies needed to trim some fixed costs it's easier to let white collar workers go because there's no hue and cry from the union to deal with. One could even argue that GM's lacklustre product portfolio over the past couple of decades has been due to letting go much of their most experienced staff during the downsizing of the 80s and 90s.

As much as possible the companies try to reduce the white collar workforce through releasing contract workers or salaried attrition so as to lessen the impact. So to say that the white collar workers "are next" is not exactly true. (An interesting point: there's significant turnover/attrition in the white collar ranks because for the most part they are paid what the market deems they're worth and therefore there's a fair bit of mobility within their profession. Yet the turnover in the blue collar ranks ins't nearly as high. I wonder why?)

 

That is actually one of my problems with the state of the U.S. today. Nobody works at the same company their whole life anymore. There is no loyalty and people will just go where the money is. I am not saying that once you start working somewhere you should be stuck, but people seem just a little to eager to leave their job for money. My 0.02

 

Loyalty is a two way street. If the company is not going to be loyal to you, why should you forgo the additional income you could be earning to be loyal to them? By what logic would you do this?

To change this, you would have to make it hard for companies to layoff people.

 

Very true.