Kernan has dropped the deal, which had been agreed only a few
months earlier by the state with TCS America, a subsidiary of
leading Indian firm Tata Consultancy Services.
"The difficulty we had with this contract was not with the
company itself," said Kernan. "After having a chance to discuss our
vision of how the state should do business, and how we can provide
better opportunities to Indiana companies and workers, we concluded
that this contract did not fit in that framework. The procedures we
had in place virtually knocked Indiana companies out of the
running."
A New Jersey politician is also rebelling against offshore
outsourcing's popularity. Senator Shirley Turner is reported to be
considering legislation that will ban the outsourcing of state
contracts to companies based abroad.
On Monday, Dell sent shockwaves around the off-shoring industry
when it announced that some technical support jobs were moving back
from Bangalore, India to Texas, USA.
Dell spokesman Jon Weisblatt told Associated Press on Monday:
"Customers weren't satisfied with the level of support they were
receiving, so we're moving some calls around to make sure they
don't feel that way anymore."
Weisblatt did not discuss the nature of the dissatisfaction, but
the news agency reports that some US customers had complained that
"Indian support operators are difficult to communicate with because
of thick accents and scripted responses."
