I know I am not the only one to call up various service lines to be connected overseas with international phone representatives. It’s always amazing to me to see how popular and frequent this is becoming these days. The reality is that U.S. companies are outsourcing labor in order to cut costs.
I have already made it clear that I consider most people in the U.S. rich by world standards, so it should be obvious that I am not trying to suggest that international workers do not have the right to these jobs. Instead, it is the unfortunate reality that U.S. corporations are taking advantage of international regulations to minimize expenses and maximize profit.
Recent Illegal Allegations on Infosys
A couple weeks ago, the story came out that Infosys, a major tech company, was illegally bringing workers to the U.S. with incorrect visas. Instead of issuing work related visas, Infosys was bringing workers over on B-1 visas. According to an article on Infosys, the company was issuing recommendations on what to say when going through customs to avoid suspicion. Not only were there allegations of illegal visa activity, Infosys was paying these workers Indian wages without withholding income tax of any sort.
This is a blatant attempt to lower expenses in labor costs, avoid major taxes, and maximize profit. It is another reason why greed can be so deadly. Not only were they breaking major laws, they were treating international workers poorly.
Religious Response to Excessive Outsourcing
Again, I feel it important to clarify that it is not my intention to promote any U.S. only labor laws. I believe immigrants have the right to compete for jobs. However, I find the system which tries to increase the profit of high end executives at the cost of nearly dehumanizing entry-level workers a major atrocity. No person deserves to be paid significantly lower wages just because they were born in another country.
God cares for all of humanity – not just rich Americans. While the nature of business is to seek a maximum profit, it should be within proper business ethics with a ground work of fair wages.
I hate to think what will happen to all of the persons and families that worked for Infosys as a result of the exposure to Infosys’s illegal activity. I can’t imagine the difficulty of working for a company for significantly lower wages than workers from another country and to be forced to leave your new home and job after something like this. While I know that international workers will adapt and continue to use their hard work ethic to give themselves an advantage in a time of high unemployment, it doesn’t make it okay to treat others this way.