Homeshoring is one more way big companies can save money at the expense of their employees. First, they lay them off. Then, they hire them as freelance contractors.
That means the employee is now self-employed, insurance is more expensive, there is no job security, no retirement benefits, no sick time, no vacation time, and no unemployment compensation possibilities if the freelance well dries up.
As the recession forces more businesses to save on the expense of workers and their benefits, more of those workers are piecing together their workweeks with contract jobs, often from the companies that fired them.
The shift can be found in most every industry, from manufacturing to technology to communications. There’s even a label for it now: homeshoring” – U.S. companies turning to U.S. freelancers to get work done.
Are we moving toward a project-to-project workforce?
Yes.
Read the rest of this Charlotte Observer “The Squeeze” blog post here.
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 7, 2009.
