Big U.S. Firms Shift Hiring Abroad

Work Forces Shrink at Home, Sharpening Debate on Economic Impact of Globalization

By DAVID WESSEL
The Wall Street Journal

WSJ's David Wessel has the story of the downside of economic globalization: U.S. multinational corporations, that employ 20% of all U.S. workers, are increasingly hiring overseas workers.

U.S. multinational corporations, the big brand-name companies that employ a fifth of all American workers, have been hiring abroad while cutting back at home, sharpening the debate over globalization's effect on the U.S. economy.

The companies cut their work forces in the U.S. by 2.9 million during the 2000s while increasing employment overseas by 2.4 million, new data from the U.S. Commerce Department show. That's a big switch from the 1990s, when they added jobs everywhere: 4.4 million in the U.S. and 2.7 million abroad.

Full story:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704821704576270783611823972.html