NEW DELHI: Although Microsoft has not yet decided how many people will be affected due to shifting of jobs, a union in the U.S., citing information from current and former workers, claims hundreds of jobs will be lost, Seattle Times reported Tuesday. "There may be some impact in the next year on our U.S. sites," the daily quoted Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake as saying. "We are continually evaluating opportunities in international markets that will allow us to improve the reach of our technical support worldwide," she said. Further details would not be known until after Microsoft tests a support centre that it opened in April in Bangalore, Drake added. According to the daily, Microsoft customer-support centres in Sammamish, Los Colinas, Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina are likely to be affected by shipping out jobs to India. Each centre employs about 800 people. The centres are part of the product support services division that replies to calls and e-mails from customers seeking help with Microsoft software. Microsoft and a host of other global technology giants like Oracle, IBM and Intel have expanded their operations in India in last few years to take advantage of a vast pool of skilled workers and low wages. German-based IT product major SAP said Monday it planned to double its workforce in India to 2,000 in the next three years and move a part of its business process outsourcing operations to the country. "But given Microsoft's high profile, its overseas expansions have been scrutinised and used as a rallying point for unions trying to organise tech workers," said the Seattle Times. In addition to the support centre in Bangalore, where it is hiring 150 people, Microsoft is expanding an engineering centre in Hyderabad. Seattle-based Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, or WashTech, a subsidiary of the Communications Workers of America, disclosed the support centre changes in Microsoft. It claims Los Colinas is losing at least 800 jobs. "This information completely contradicts Microsoft's public position that the impacts of their focus on sending work abroad is not going to affect its U.S. employees," said WashTech president Marcus Courtney. "Clearly, Microsoft is starting to cut its U.S. work force and send work abroad in order to slash its labour costs." Courtney said his information came from several Microsoft employees and temporary workers. They estimated more than 800 jobs will be lost because they believe Microsoft is planning to sublease one of two buildings it owns at Los Colinas, in an area of high-tech companies north of Dallas. Drake of Microsoft, however, said: "There are no plans at this time" to sell or lease either building in Los Colinas and the 800 jobs figure has never been used internally at the company. "There have been no decisions made."
Source: IANS