Outsourcing/"Nearshoring" Updates

1. Caribbean Call Centers Booming: "In a global search for low-cost customer service, AOL considered call centers in India and other hotspots - then settled on the tiny island of St. Lucia.

In choosing the Caribbean island, AOL - a unit of Time Warner Inc. - joined other U.S. companies that have made the region a new global hub for call centers.

Plunging communication costs, workers who relate easily to American customers and the region's famed hospitality are attracting American corporations, boosting the work force in the "nearshore" service industry in the Caribbean.

Note: Typical wage in Jamaica, one of the leaders of Caribbean "nearshoring," with about 14,000 employees in the sector: $2.75 to $3.20 an hour.

2. Outsourcing Britain's elderly to India: "First jobs were outsourced from Britain to India. Next it was healthcare, with hundreds of Britons travelling to leading hospitals in Indian cities for surgical operations and other medical procedures. Now another aspect of healthcare may be outsourced to India — that of looking after some of Britain's elderly or disabled.
The reason is the same — costs are much lower in India."

(Thanks to Sanil Kori)