Companies crow about keeping jobs in the USA

By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY

As concern over the loss of jobs overseas intensifies, some companies are promoting their decision not to hire workers in other countries to replace U.S. employees.

"No outsourcing" could become the latest twist on the "made in the USA" slogan. Now, consumers are compiling Web sites that track which employers outsource overseas, which means they hire workers in other countries to do jobs typically held by U.S. employees. And some businesses are letting clients request that work not be farmed out to overseas workers.

• TaxBrain, an online tax-preparation program, includes a sentence in its program that assures customers its employees are in the USA: "All TaxBrain assistance is served from our office in California; we don't outsource jobs to India or any other third parties."

• At First Health (FHCC), a managed care company in Downers Grove, Ill., clients come to tour the call center before signing up and receive assurances that the company won't outsource.

• Pleasanton, Calif., consumer direct lender E-Loan (EELN) discloses to home equity customers that some application work is handled in India — and then lets clients choose whether to participate or have the work done domestically.

• Alpine Access, a Golden, Colo.-based call center whose employees work at home, appeals to clients by offering to match operators with the type of customers who call. Says CEO Reg Foster: "We're not just keeping jobs in America, we're creating jobs in America."

Consumers are paying attention. Web sites such as Hireamerica.us list companies that outsource and those that haven't. Those that don't are dubbed "patriotic." U.S. employers will move about 3.3 million white-collar jobs and $136 billion in wages abroad, according to Forrester Research. That's up from $4 billion in wages in 2000.

Sentiment against outsourcing is building. At the federal and state level, legislators are considering bills aimed at discouraging companies from offshoring.

The push by companies to advertise that they haven't outsourced is so new that there are no studies on how many are doing so.

Many companies that do outsource jobs aren't worried. Just 11% believed it hurt their brand image, according to a 2004 survey by Hewitt Associates.

Tom Peters, author of Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age, says people may boycott companies as the issue heats up. But companies that don't offshore "will be at a disadvantage."