Chris Dodd: “This is a story written by Scott Thurm. It is about a company, ValiCert, that learned key roles must remain in the U.S.…”

“This is a story written by Scott Thurm. It is about a company, ValiCert, that learned key roles must remain in the U.S. for outsourcing to work. And the thrust of the article is this company rushed, like everybody else. Forty percent of the top 1,000 companies in America are now outsourcing their jobs, sort of like chasing into Mexico back in the 1980s when the financial service sector thought that was the place to be, without much thought. Once these trends begin, they are sort of like sheep following one after another without much thought involved. This company ValiCert went racing off to outsource its jobs, reduced its employment, saved a lot of money, according to the article, expected to save millions annually while cranking out new software for banks. I am quoting from the article now: When sales of their securities software slowed in 2001, executives at ValiCert began laying off engineers in Silicon Valley to hire replacements in India for $7,000 a year. ValiCert expected to save millions while cranking out new software for banks and insurers and government agencies. Senior Vice President David Jevans recalls optimistic predictions that the company would 'cut the budget by half here and hire twice as many people there [in India].' Colleagues would swap work across the globe every 12 hours, helping ValiCert 'put more people on it and get it done sooner,' he says. The reality was different.…”