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At the University of California's San Francisco campus, 79 IT employees lost their jobs this week, some of them after explaining to their replacements at Indian outsourcing firm HCL how to do their jobs.
The union representing the employees, University Professional and Technical Employees CWA Local 9119, says it's the first time a public university has offshored American IT jobs.
In a statement sent yesterday, UPTE-CWA says the layoffs could spread, since the HCL contract can be utilized by any of the 10 campuses in the University of California system, the nation's largest public university. "US taxes should be used to create jobs in the US, not in other countries," said Kurt Ho, a systems administrator who was quoted in the union's press release. Ho was required to train his replacement as a condition of getting his severance pay.
In its statement on the matter, UCSF says that it was pushed to hire outside contractors due to "increased demand for information technology and escalating costs for these services." The university says it will save more than $30 million by hiring HCL, after seeing IT costs nearly triple between 2011 and 2016, "driven by the introduction of the electronic medical record and increased digital connectivity."
The university says 49 UCSF employees were laid off, and it will eliminate another 48 jobs that are currently vacant or filled by contractors. "UCSF will not replace UCSF IT employees with H-1B visa holders, nor will HCL," the university wrote in a statement e-mailed to Ars.
Of the 49 laid-off UCSF employees, 34 have either secured other employment or are retiring, the university said.
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(Score: 2, Interesting) by anubi on Monday March 06 2017, @02:54AM (5 children)
And that's exactly why students should avoid STEM.
If you have a brilliant mathematical mind, consider something *important* to the business class... investment research. Banking. Marketing. How to use technology and
How to use technology, backed by laws signed by lobbied Congressmen, to compel others to your Business model.
Right now, we have a sick, diseased internet, that can't be trusted due to rampaging viral issues. So we lay off the people who should be investigating how to cure it.
( Because the cures will inevitably negate the backdoors many businesses and governments paid the software authors to implement in source code and lobbied Congressmen to hold them harmless for. )
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 06 2017, @08:01AM (2 children)
If you have a brilliant mathematical mind, consider something *important* to the business class... investment research. Banking. Marketing.
I saw an analysis recently which suggested, that even with all the crazy high salaries in those areas, the tech people who actually chose those jobs were the weakest students. They were only looking at MIT students, so its not like they were the dregs of a 2-year college. But there was a pretty clear self-sorting between the top-tier and the bottom-tier and it was the bottom-tier that took the wallstreet jobs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 06 2017, @08:51AM (1 child)
Could be the 100hr weeks and being treated like shit by the "real investment guys" and burning out at 40? Not so attractive as a (low paid) uni position for the top tier.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Monday March 06 2017, @10:53AM
The one thing I can say about STEM is its like music or art.... you do this because you have it in you. Its your passion.
However, don't count on it to support a family, lifestyle, or wife.
You may get lucky and get a job where you are appreciated.
But all too often, its like a gardener.... you may absolutely love doing this kind of stuff, but you are gone the instant your employer finds someone else who claims to do a passable job for less.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday March 06 2017, @03:10PM (1 child)
And that's exactly why students should avoid STEM.
If you have a brilliant mathematical mind, consider something *important* to the business class... investment research. Banking. Marketing. How to use technology and
How to use technology, backed by laws signed by lobbied Congressmen, to compel others to your Business model.
What would be the point of the consideration? What additional value do you bring over a bunch of MBA flunkies? STEM expertise is one of those things that a brilliant mathematical mind can do better. But you can't get the STEM knowledge without some sort of excursion formal or otherwise into these fields.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday March 07 2017, @07:04AM
I was trying to be absurd to the point of trying to get across how we as a nation are squandering the most important resource we have... our creativity.
Some nations have been around for centuries, and seemingly left little to show for it. Other nations have come along and improved things big time for all humanity.
We ( The USA ) used to be in that camp, but we seem to be willing to give it all away to protect the business interests of a few elite. ( Like all this "intellectual property" law being used to keep "commoners" ignorant of how their stuff works, and law that promotes "ownership" instead of research and production. )
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]