Big U.S. Firms Shift Hiring Abroad

Big U.S. Firms Shift Hiring Abroad



Work Forces Shrink at Home, Sharpening Debate on Economic Impact of Globalization


U.S. multinational corporations, the big brand-name companies that
employ a fifth of all American workers, have been hiring abroad while
cutting back at home, sharpening the debate over globalization's effect
on the U.S. economy.

The companies cut their work forces in the U.S. by 2.9 million during
the 2000s while increasing employment overseas by 2.4 million, new data
from the U.S. Commerce Department show. That's a big switch from the
1990s, when they added jobs everywhere: 4.4 million in the U.S. and 2.7
million abroad.

In all, U.S. multinationals employed 21.1 million people at home in
2009 and 10.3 million elsewhere, including increasing numbers of
higher-skilled foreign workers.
The trend highlights the growing importance of other economies,
particularly in rapidly growing Asia, to big U.S. businesses such as General Electric Co., Caterpillar Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.


The data also underscore the vulnerability of the U.S. economy,
particularly at a time when unemployment is high and wages aren't
rising. Jobs at multinationals tend to pay above-average wages and, for
decades, sustained the American middle class.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704821704576270783611823972.html

Spitzer: Big U.S. companies created 2.4 million jobs overseas, cutting 2.9 million jobs here


http://inthearena.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/19/spitzer-big-u-s-companies-created-2-4-million-jobs-overseas-cutting-2-9-million-jobs-here/