Wednesday, March 18, 2009

House of Reps. 'Outraged' at JPMorgan Outsourcing (JPM)

Last week, in "JPMorgan Chase to Increase India Outsourcing 25%" we said*:
This may be smart operationally but politically it is dumber than the auto execs flying to Washington for their handout....
From the Columbus Dispatch:

Dear Mr. Dimon,

We are outraged by the potential actions of your company to outsource tens of thousands of U.S. jobs as well as your comments made to the United States Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. We would like to remind you that the taxpayers of the United States of America contributed $25 billion to your company to help stabilize our economy -- not send jobs overseas.

Just yesterday you indicated that the "constant vilification of corporate America" by our public officials is what is hurting our country. This pronouncement comes less than 72 hours after reports surfaced that your institution plans to spend nearly $400 million on outsourcing of jobs to India -- an increase of 25 percent. JP Morgan Chase is not a victim of constant vilification, but it will be viewed and criticized based on actions like this outsourcing policy....MORE

HT: Environmental Economics who comment:

...So companies are not allowed to reorganize in the face of difficult budget situations? Read on...

And here is the middle:

In your testimony on Feb. 11, 2009 to the House Committee on Financial Services you said that you looked forward to working with the committee "to help find solutions to our current economic problems, to keep American families in their homes and to begin to restore confidence in our financial markets." There is no better way to make your words immediately ring hollow than taking actions to outsource thousands of jobs that Americans could perform.

Wrong! The money was not to maintain jobs in the banking sector so that individual banks can continue business as usual. Business as usual got us into this mess. The money was to make sure the banking system stayed solvent while individual banks reorganized into a better way of doing business (at least that's what I hope the plan was)....MORE

*Our post continued:

...Folks are not happy. A crowd (8000 in Fullerton) in California chanted "Head on a stick" while protesting against Arnold Schwarzenegger this weekend. And these were conservatives who had probably never protested in public before!
It is getting ugly. Sort of like watching Baptists dance.
Maybe the politicos saw the pictures of Arnie's head on pike-poles.