Will Apple Outsourcing to India Equal Lost Jobs and Frustrated Customers in America?

Apple Computer Inc. announced its decision to set up its first massive technical support center in India. It will open as early as May 2006. Apple has officially jumped into the ranks, with Dell and other global technology companies, of those who outsource outside America. Apple fans and employees, in the United States, have been posting their concerns over the potential loss of employment and the quality of technical support that Indian employees can provide.

According to a post at Times News Network by Sujit John, a Karnataka state government official in Bangalore, the site location for the facility, said, “the government had cleared Apple’s proposal to invest in Bangalore. But they are yet to reveal the extent of investment or the total employment. They should be starting operations within the next two months.”

Apple could hire as many as 1,500 employees by the end of this year, and then double that to 3,000 by the end of 2007. Bangalore was chosen after an evaluation of seven Indian cities, and property developer RMZ Corp will create the facility. Sources think that Apple’s decision is predicated upon its record fiscal performance in 2005, in which a growth of 68 percent raised the company’s worth to $14 billion dollars. The future of Cupertino’s Apple employees is uncertain; outsourcing to India will save money, but how far Apple will cut back stateside with its tech-support team is a hot topic for speculation.

Apple fans began immediately posting their comments early Thursday morning when the news was released. At the MacWorld.com forum, user “Uchuugaka” posted:“No. No. NO…  this is terrible news. When tech-support centers are far afield from real management centers of companies, you get nothing usually…Apple has had outstanding support and service for years…Why would they blow this?? Even here in Tokyo, I can speak to someone from Apple on the phone.” “Uchuugaka” continues his lament with the soothing thought that at least there are Apple stores that give great service in person.

“Philbert” writes: “As an American, I don’t have a problem with outsourcing in principle. It’s truly a global world and everyone has a right to earn a living. I just think it’s a BAD idea to have personnel who’s job entails communication with customers when the exchange turns into [a] frustrating experience because of language barriers. There’s a good chance the customer is already frustrated with a problem (why else would you call tech support), and trying to communicate with someone who’s hard to understand only compounds the frustration. I know it’s about saving money but BAD MOVE Apple! Let’s hope you do a better job in picking personnel than the other companies I’ve dealt with.”

At the Arstechnica comments page, user “svdsinner” does not have a very positive forecast for Apple’s outsourcing move: “I’ve never seen any of the companies I watch have long term success with outsourcing. Outsourcing that saves money always comes with a loss of quality, and outsourcing that does result in a loss of quality doesn’t result in cost savings.”

User “Deimos the Impaler” suggests: “Well if it’s used for after-hours support only, since it’s daytime there when it’s night over here…if they work on their employees’ English skills perhaps it can work…”

And not to be ignored are the people who defend the customer service skills of Indians, such as user “Pureheartedsoul”: “Indians speak English just fine…you pay American companies lots of dollars for ‘SUPPORT’ and they keep all the money for themselves and outsource the support to India and SAVE money…[accept] the fact that India is the global leader in outsourcing…”

Another result of Apple’s outsourcing efforts partnered with Hollywood is detailed in the www.macnn.com post, “Apple digital media training center opens in India.” Apple Computer India and Hyderabad-based Padmalaya Telefilms have partnered to create a center in India for digital media training. “This digital media center aims to bridge the gap between demand and supply of qualified technicians - a problem that is quite common in the TV, film and broadcasting industry.”

It’s the global age, and Apple is an integral part of it. Only the future will tell if outsourcing is a wise move for the company, or if the backlash will sting of reconsideration.