Don Manzullo, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee, has criticized CEOs of large public companies for offshore outsourcing.
Manzullo said that CEOs who measure success by the closing price of their company’s stock are putting at risk the long-range viability of small businesses. He singled out CEOs who are sending work offshore in droves, “exploiting cheap labor for short term stock gains.” He noted that these companies are pulling work from smaller subcontractors and seeking cheaper offshore providers.
Manzullo urged those same CEOs to look long-term. In a committee hearing earlier this week, experts testified that “the long-range value of a company improves the more the company invests in its workers instead of relying on cheap labor.”
Offshore outsourcing is a political hot potato in the United States. Yet, as much as small businesses may agree with Representative Manzullo’s sentiments, it’s unlikely his words will have much impact on the behavior of large publicly-traded companies and their CEOs.
