AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson has run the risk of incensing workers’ unions by claiming his company cannot find enough US residents skilled enough to work in the carrier’s customer services departments. After AT&T pledged to return 5,000 jobs from India to the US back in 2006, they’ve so far managed to recruit just 1,400, and Stephenson blames rising high-school drop out rates and the flexibility of the global development marketplace for the shortfall.
“We’re having trouble finding the numbers that we need with the skills that are required to do these jobs … We’re able to do new product engineering in Bangalore as easily as we’re able to do it in Austin Texas. I know you don’t like hearing that, but that’s the way it is” Randall Stephenson, CEO, AT&T
Referring to schools where the drop out rate has reached 50-percent, Stephenson compared the situation to a poorly performing company:
“If I had a business that half the product we turned out was defective or you couldn’t put into the marketplace, I would shut that business down” Randall Stephenson, CEO, AT&T
This is a load of bull. U.S. companies don’t want to pay experienced workers what they’re worth, and they don’t want to hire anyone over 40. This guy is making a plea for the government to train young, inexperienced, cheaper workers at taxpayers’ expense. If the government spent the money to crack down on age discrimination, American companies would have all the experienced high tech workers they need. Enough with the greedy CEO’s.
Lies, Lies, Lies!!!! The real reason is cheap labor!!!! What an insult to the workers here in the U.S.
If he is looking, then why wasnt I offered? Let’s see, worked in EMS for 12 years, a veteran and I know my way around a screen and phone. Pay me $13 an hour and we can call it even! That’s less than $30,000 a year. Just have to get the rest of the US to lower their rates and stop being money hungry and hurting those who dont make much!