[lotuseclat79]

The Ugly Truth about Jobs.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke has given Americans a glimpse of the ugly truth about their future job prospects. Simply put, companies have found that they can shed workers and rely on technological advances and overseas factories to operate with a lot fewer U.S. employees.

So, what's an American worker to do - move overseas and be paid a minuscule wage or innovate? Some choice. In nature it's adapt or die. Perhaps we need to find a way to be more competitive about making the "American Dream" come true again. Question is how to do that - now! Ideas anyone?

-- Tom

[SlackAli]

Originally Posted by lotuseclat79

. Simply put, companies have found that they can shed workers and rely on technological advances and overseas factories to operate with a lot fewer U.S. employees.

Given that this process has been affecting Western economies since Barack Obama was too young to read an autocue, with this level of business insight it's hardly surprising the US economy is already around the bend on its descent down the can

[Paquadez]

The writing was on the wall, as I warned herein and elsewhere, years ago, when middle management down to bluecollars were ruthlessly downsized: and driven to take McJobs at far less money.

Thereby not affording to pay health insurance or save for their retirement.

Yes, the increasing application of technology has indeed reduced necessary headcount: but not as much as some would have you believe: thus far, US executive management have still, mainly, failed to roll our integrated Front/Back Office solutions.

What has occured is a purposive downsizing of staff, as evermore greedy execs chased higher residual margins.

A ready example of this is the reality that if you are not classified as High Net Wealth by banks, credit card operators, insurers etc, then the ratio of agents to customers is microscopic when compared to more fravoured customers.

You want to buy something? An egent sits on the lin e and you are answered immediately: got a problem or complaint? Stand by for a long wait!

The management consultants McKinsey and Co were very active in the UK in the 1960s, selling a simple concept: they would snow you how to cut a large swathe through company costs: by cutting headcount.

Their deal was at first glance to good to be true: if their strategies didn't work then you paid them nothing: if they did after 18 months then you paid them a percentage of your increased profit.

Trouble was this placed remaining staff under great pressure: and failed to address the critical aspects of Advanced Product Planning, R & D and the other essential areas for ensuring corporate continuum.

By transferring a raft of process work overseas (production, design, administration etc), companies have increased their profits: temporarily.

Of course in time, the cost bases of those offshore centres will rise and rise...........

What bankers, financial services companies and all those large corporations like GE have failed to realise as such as Jack Welch ran around America shuttering plants and firing workers wholesale and moving the corporate offering mix evermore towards financial services, as that all companies need a reasonably well paid population to be able to afford to buy their products in the first place!

Where America and Britain have screwed up big time, is in failing to identify the business and employment foci of the future and also in retraining workers to fill that need.

A study of Denmark years ago showed the way forward: as the Danish economy used to depend heavily on shipping, the introduction of containerisation meant hundreds of thousands of dock workers would be unemployed and unemployable.

So early on it retrained them.

The greedy rush to increase bottom line profits via short termism and earn obscene exec pay, bonuses and stock options has caused effective myopia.

The critical way to measure US corporate effectiveness, now, is to examine their ratios of Gross Revenue : R & D: and then examine those of leading Asian tech busineses.

As the US electronics industry allowed silicon engineering (memory, processors etc) to escape overseas simply because it was cheaper, one company, TSC in Taiwan now dominates the global silicon foundry business. Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and now of course, China are increasingly leading and dominating global technology.

It is far from a happy forward picture.

[LANMaster]

But de stimulus, de stimulus. You must pay heed to de magic stimulis ....

[katonca]

I know that in my area (Midwest rust belt) companies frown on locating to an area that has a depleted quality work force. Many of the jobs eliminated years ago have caused people to leave the area. The youth that are growing up here haven't had job experience or education to prompt companies to take a chance on us. The only option we have to lure jobs here, is to offer tax abatements.

[guy2]

Old new's ,lost 3 manufacturing jobs due to systematic automation.

I'm actually happy i lost those jobs because they really did deserve automation ,most of the jobs in manufacturing are very stressful and everybody is always at each others throat's because fast is never fast enough.

These jobs are by far the worse ,dirty ,dangerous ,bad for your health and bad for you self esteem.

Im not saying that all manufacturing should be automated but many operations in manufacturing should be and aren't.

[LANMaster]

Hey, here's an idea ..... lets raise taxes on business. That'll help the government cover the unemployment.