Obama to curb outsourcing

In a major decision that could hurt outsourcing of jobs to India and other countries, US president Barack Obama has proposed the removal of tax incentives to American companies shifting jobs abroad, besides cracking down on overseas tax havens, writes Express Buzz.

Hitting out at the loopholes in the country's corporate tax code, Obama commented: ''It's a tax code that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York.''

In proposals that would hit US corporations with overseas divisions, Obama said removal of tax deductions to firms that earn profits in countries with low tax rates and closing other loopholes would net $ 210 billion in additional tax collections over the next decade.

Concerns over swine flu outbreaks in Mexico have led to many governments issuing warnings against non-essential travel to the country, reports Pharmaceutical Business Review.

Considering the existing worries over ongoing border violence, as well as potential agent absence, this virus could have a negative impact on the Mexican contact centre outsourcing sector.

The recent outbreak of the virus commonly known as swine flu should be cause for concern among contact centre outsourcers based in Mexico looking to grow their business from the US and abroad, should the spread of the disease not slow in the immediate future.

Fujitsu Australia expects to sign several deals in the next six months and add up to 100 staff members as it charges towards becoming the country's third-biggest technology company, states Australian IT.

The Japanese outsourcer's growth will be driven by the $200 million acquisition of Telstra's services arm Kaz, completed last week.

The activity is part of Fujitsu's bid to become the third-largest technology company in Australia, behind IBM and Hewlett-Packard, according to local chief executive Rod Vawdrey. Fujitsu planned on hiring between 50 and 100 people to support the five-year desktop services outsourcing contract with Qantas. The services are expected to be moved to Fujitsu from former Qantas provider Telstra by the end of the year.