Microsoft Plans to Hire 33% More Engineers in China

[douglas9]

Source: Bloomberg News

Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, plans to employ 33 percent more engineers in China by the end of the fiscal year to boost research and development.

The company will add 1,000 engineers by the end of June next year, Zhang Yaqin, chairman of Microsoft China, said in Beijing today. About 10 percent will be doing research and the rest mostly in product development, he said.

The Redmond, Washington-based software maker has about 3,000 research engineers in China at present, the highest number outside the U.S., Zhang said.

Microsoft is stepping up research operations in a market where about 82 percent of business software is pirated, and more than 90 percent of the nation's 1.3 billion people don't own computers. Piracy cost business software makers about $1.9 billion of lost revenue in 2006, according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance, a lobby group of copyright holders.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aLlW1KwOL5L8&refer=asia

[Demeter]

1. Fine. Hope They Hire 77% More Quality Control People, Too

What an asinine corporate plan.

[SujiwanKenobee]

2. Multiply this by x number of other companies focussed abroad...

You know, we were taught that even if the formerly family-sustaining manufacturing jobs left the US for countries that could more "efficiently" produce these products, we would still remain pre-eminent in the so-called brain jobs. We'd "invent stuff" that these other countries would make in a cost effective manner. Now the multi-nationals, who owe no national allegiance, are also taking THOSE jobs out of the US. Unfunny jokes about flipping burger/service jobs aside, what are we going to be left with? It seems like we're going back in time to an agrarian stage since all we'll be left with is food and raw material exports!

[nbcouch]

10. Welcome

to the global economy, otherwise known as "America as a Third-World Backwater."

When the gates of the gated communities are no longer sufficient to hold back the rioters, the powers that be, who can afford to live anywhere they want anyway, will move to the suburbs of Bangalore - if they haven't already done so. That's the world we're headed for, folks. Count on it.

[ProudDad]

16. They have determined

that you will be the slave of the corporate capitalist masters who OWN all of this shit.

Face it, at some point we may have to storm the headquarters of the corporate masters, drag them out and hang them in the square before anything will really change.

[Joe Chi Minh]

3. Economically, we in the West are supposed to meet the workers and

retirees of the Third World, half way. At least, initially. Then in it will be "Go on down!"

Meanwhile, it's OK if the top bosses take off into the stratosphere with our money. Sounds fair, doesn't it?

[fasttense]

4. Bill Gates and Microsoft destroying America's middle class, one job at a time.

Or in this case, 1,000 at a time. Can they really be called an American company anymore? Can we really look at Bill Gates as an American success story or more like a Chinese success story?

[nbcouch]

5. Destroy the US middle class?

Of course! It's the emerging middle class in Asia and elsewhere that they'll be selling to once we're impoverished to the point that we no longer represent an attractive market - and they're MUCH bigger than we are anyway.

[ozone_man]

28. As our consumer power wanes.

A new frontier emerges for U.S. multinationals. The planet will give up the ghost when we have successfully reproduced a few billion American level consumers in Asia.

[MikeNearMcChord]

7. And yet Gates goes around with his Bullsh-- PR stunt

About being concerned about American education, yet he would never hire those kids if they did get those degrees in computer technology. It is time to fund our schools for the 21st century by taxing these billionaires big time! Skin'em good too!

[Highway61]

6. Bunch of bastards

Every last one of these corporate thugs. Hey Bill, what is your salary gonna be now? When is enough too much, huh?

[rAVES]

8. Dont suppose youse would have much problems with Non US companies employing in the states huh?

[Javaman]

9. youse? nt

[rAVES]

11. Well the folks here giving out stink... obviously

[Javaman]

13. No, I mean you used the non-word, "youse". nt

[rAVES]

14. I was addressing more than one person.. I dont see the problem with Youse

[Javaman]

18. I know you don't but it's not proper English. Frankly, I don't care

and being from Brooklyn myself, I heard it a lot growing up and I knew what you meant.

[nbcouch]

19. What's your point?

Non-US companies have had US operations, and therefore US employees, for decades. The issue is not US companies hiring foreign workers, or foreign companies hiring US workers. The issue is large numbers of US workers going unemployed or underemployed for long periods of time because US companies would rather use cheap foreign labor, and because nothing whatsoever is being done for the US workers who are suffering because of it.

Nothing is being done to bring costs of living in line with greatly diminished wages. In fact, costs of living continue to soar, with energy prices, health care costs, and mortgage rates offsetting the crash in the housing market.

Nothing is being done toward retraining workers who, through no fault of their own except for being relatively expensive, have watched their jobs vanish overseas. I don't know how many times I've read horseshit articles about the wonderful new jobs that would be opening up for American workers once all these dreary IT and high tech jobs are offshored. Trouble is, the white-collar jobs being offshored now are the ones that were supposed to be there for all the workers who were screwed over when all the manufacturing jobs went overseas.

NAFTA and CAFTA are symptoms, not the core problem, which is the corporatism that has been growing steadily since the 70s and has taken over in a big way since BushCo came into power. Corporatism knows no boundaries, no nations, and lately, no laws.

[HughBeaumont]

22. Not really, because it's not the same thing.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2475273#2475342

What you're talking about is Direct Foreign Investment, which some Republipundits incorrectly think is the same thing as job offshoring. In all likelihood, it's a positive for all involved, unlike job offshoring, which only works for the wealthy of both countries.

Expansion of market share <> job offshoring. Not even in the same ballpark.

[Joe Chi Minh]

27. What's that got to do with the price of fish and chips? Inward investment

should be a matter of shame. It is in the more advanced countries of Europe.

Thanks to Thatcher and her brood, who like to wrap themselves in the Union Jack at every opportunity, not only has a substantial part of our national utilities been sold off to foreign companies, but also the nation's flagship companies, such as Rolls Royce, well, virtually the whole of our car industry. Last I heard, the only mass-produced car manufacturer we still own, produces a snazzy little three-wheeler job, called the Reliant Robin. Indeed, the early bird gets the worm.

Then, of course there are the financial institutions, commercial and private banks, insurance companies, heck... the Stock Exchange looked like going "furrin", until a foreign woman, maybe a American, saved it for our degenerate nation, at least temporarily.

Do you really think the Germans, French or the Japanese (who mostly are now the owners) would sell their biggest and best companies abroad - and then have the shamelesness to call it inward invesment! The fact is these people who rule us are spivs, snake-oil salesmen, who just want the country to make its money for themselves from derivatives, etc... that'll fix the bolshie workers! No more trouble from them.

I read today that your man, Paulsen, has made an absolute financial killing, somewhat overshadowing even George Soros' Black Wednesday bonanza, by "shorting subprime" (no, don't tell me what it means).

Now, I began to write the above paragraph, because I wanted to ask, why the financial world is so full of half-wits that seemingly, he alone, saw that great win/win opportunity coming down the pike (and its corollary, imminent economic ruin). Why are such people allowed to play Masters of the Universe. Apparently, Paulson is finanicing legislation to at least clip their wings, while increasing his own "killing"! More power to his elbow.

However, to my utter astonishment, as I checked something on Google I came across an article in BusinessWeek by one, Eamon Javers, the following words, "... Paulson & Co., which has seen its assets under management soar this year through fortuitous bets in the subprime market,...". FORTUITOUS BETS! Let a financial ignoramus tell you, Eamon, there would have been nothing AT.ALL fortuitous about Mr Paulson's investments. From the day he uttered his first word. The writing was on the wall, and he was the fabled one-eyed man in the land of the blind.

[notanotherday]

12. You can thank Clintons, NAFTA, CAFCA and the DLC democrats as much as the R's

Yep, the corporate Democratic party is really looking out for our interests.

[onehandle]

15. United "Do you want fries with that?" States. nt

[dmosh42]

17. 'Free trade' has it's rewards....

for the slave countries!

[rAVES]

20. Dey Tuk R Jarbs!

[HughBeaumont]

23. Ah, a South Park "fend for yourself" reference. Funny!

Oh yeah, your slip is showing.

[rAVES]

24. My Slip? :o

[lovuian]

21. They have gone crazy

off the deep end

[0rganism]

25. It only makes sense for them to do this

Microsoft is losing big money in China, due to piracy and undermarketing. At a guess, a lot of "product development" would include localization and tuning (both linguistic and political) of existing software for Chinese users.

Plus, they can get those 1000 Chinese software engineers for the cost of less than 100 American or European software engineers, and that's just "smart business", right? Our Elected Leaders have successfully driven legislation designed to cheapen the labor pool and destroy the middle class for the benefit of our Extremely Wealthy uber-Citizens. That sinking feeling you may feel is the natural result of a rising tide lifting a luxury yacht. :shrug:

[OhioChick]

26. Bill is an Asshole. Enough Said. n/t

[JDPriestly]

29. I believe that we need now to build communities that are more

self-sufficient. My idea is that Americans need to join in small groups not to protest or to revolt, but simply to support each other's needs locally in self-sustaining communities. We need to walk away from the corporate culture. It doesn't need us. It is just using us at this point.

When I was a child, my father made many of our toys, such as board games, blocks, little pull toys out of wood himself. My parents also gardened. My aunts and my mother made a lot of our clothes. At this point, you cannot sew for the cost of the finished item in the cheaper stores. But that is going to change as the dollar falls against more and more currencies.

I'm not talking about communal living. I'm not talking about socialism. I am talking about communities in which people live as individuals but in a nonbinding commitment to simplify their lives. Things like medicine, important appliances, education would still be a part of life, but the economy would be more local and the lifestyle simpler.

[Supersedeas]

30. American jobs?