BofA: Train your replacement, or no severance pay for you

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/9/6 | David Lazarus

[SmithL]

Bank of America has been steadily moving thousands of tech jobs to India. The latest to go are about 100 positions that handle BofA's internal tech support.

While many of the bank's Bay Area techies accept the inevitability of their jobs heading abroad, what rankles them is the fact that, in many cases, they're being told they have to first train the Indians who are getting their gigs.

"If people want their severance packages, they have to train their replacements," a senior engineer at one of BofA's Bay Area facilities told me. "There's nothing in writing that says this -- the bank's been careful about that. But it's made clear at meetings what we're supposed to do."

Shirley Norton, a BofA spokeswoman, confirmed that while workers aren't being explicitly told they have to train their replacements or risk losing severance pay, they are being instructed that severance pay is contingent on satisfactorily completing their jobs.

Completing their jobs, in turn, can include training replacements from India, she said.

"I know that's parsing things a bit," Norton acknowledged. "What we ask associates to do as part of getting severance is that they stay on the job until the job is transitioned.

[stephenjohnbanker]

I can't wait until some enterprising guy from India skips with $100,000,000.00 B of A Bux : )

[Brilliant]

"100 positions that handle BofA's internal tech support."



That's kinda interesting. It's one thing to give your customers a support technician that doesn't know squat, but when you do it to yourself, you're really up a tree.

[Dialup Llama]

We should start calling it the Bank of India.

[1FASTGLOCK45]

I don't agree with the policy but companies make employees do stuff because they don't really have a choice. I'd be looking for a new job asap.
I don't do bank BofA anymore, i pulled all my money out and went to WashMutual about 5 years ago. BofA was charging me for too much crap.

[LizardQueen]

I'd probably suffer from a sudden attack of dyslexia and accidentally reverse a few letters in the necessary passwords, while doing the training.

LQ, who is getting laid off 8/1 but fortunately doesn't work for BofA or have to train her replacement.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

All data sent to India can be easily bought.

[Disambiguator]

LQ, who is getting laid off 8/1 but fortunately doesn't work for BofA or have to train her replacement.

You are the Lizard Queen, you can do anything.

:^)

[Reagan 76]

I own a bunch of BOA via the Fleet buyout via the Bank of Boston buyout. I probably ought to do some homework and see if there is a better value in the banking sector. Problem is that I really don't want to pay the capital gains on the BOA; the gain is about 2X my yearly salary.

[LizardQueen]

LOL, thanks - I keep forgetting that....

I wonder what they'd do in an interview if I stood on the desk and proclaimed that ::laughing::.

LQ

[rottndog]

I had BofA about 10 years ago--I got tired of being fee'd to death and left. A friend of mine who owns a business recently finally got tired of their terrible service and also went to WaMu. Bank of America really sucks--I can see why they are having to cut costs.

[dalereed]

BofA has always been the sleziest bank in the business.

Formerly known as the Bank of Italy.

They are the lowest pay and have a constant thrnover and make the most mistakes.

[Boundless]

> I'd probably suffer from a sudden attack of dyslexia
> and accidentally reverse a few letters in the necessary
> passwords, while doing the training.

If I had a BoA account, I'd close it, based on this news,
for precisely that reason. If any of the folks getting
the axe have the ability to screw up the bank, it only
takes one to do it.

[brownsfan]

I'm a tech guy. One can train a replacement without training fully... or well.

I certainly hope BofA gets just what they deserve. I know I won't do business with them.

[mysterio]

Cool. I'll not do business with Bank of America, and I'll encourage my friends not to, as well.

Maybe they can get lots of third world customers.

[Dialup Llama]

BofA's increasing reliance on Indian workers was made evident in a 40-minute presentation given last year to some of the bank's U.S. tech employees. BofA distributed DVDs of the presentation to managers companywide in April as part of a new program called Culture Connections.

She then introduces the presenter, Shiva Subramaniam, who has traveled from India to give an overview of India's culture, including how the country has "specific gods for specific concepts," and how "it's almost impossible to look at an Indian and not associate him with the game of cricket."

Now for BOA employees is almost impossible to look at an Indain and not associate him with the loss of your job.

More jobs that Americans don't want to do?

[HamiltonJay]

BUT BUT BUT wait.. H1B isn't a scam.. its not being abused....

/SARCASM

[DannyTN]

"I don't agree with the policy but companies make employees do stuff because they don't really have a choice. "

I agree, as long as outsourcing to India is an option. BOA has to compete against other banks who are willing to outsource.

The stop for this has to come from Government. That's what Government is supposed to do, set the rules for the marketplace. If the rules say outsourcing is an option, and it's financially a good strategy, then if you don't outsource, you are putting yourself out of business.

We'd all like to think that outsourcing is a strategic mistake, and the Indians will run off with the money, or BOA will provide poor service, and it's a possibility, but it strikes me as a "sour grapes" attitude.

[aShepard]

........and went to WashMutual .............

Talk about the belly of the beast!

Washington Mutual was the total absolute worst bank relationship I ever had. Finally after 10 months of total grief, the President of the Mortgage department wrote to apologize for their multiple mis-postings, suspense cash, and nasty notices of foreclosure that had been sent to me. By then I had re-fied elsewhere.

Total idiots throughout the company!

[OKIEDOC]

I wonder just how safe my personal information might be with all these foreigners now handling JOBS AMERCANS WILL NOT DO.

Got a call from Capitol One telling me that I had pre qualified for a credit card.

I asked the gal in what city she was located and she refused to tell me.

She had a very heavy English accent from either India or Pakistan.

When she said she couldn't tell me her location I told her that the card did not interest me.

There is going to come a day when many Americans will be out of work and the backlash against these companies sending jobs overseas will be a sight to see.