Week 4 - MKTG 3349 - Employers Renting Workers, Not Selling Products

While reading through chapter three in Surfing the Tsunami by Todd Kelsey, I came across several articles relating to AI and their impacts on the modern world, especially pertaining to employers, employees, and how AI has impacted a wide variety of job markets. The article that really stood out to me the most was Some of the World’s Largest Employers No Longer Sell Things, They Rent Workers by Lauren Webber and published by The Wall Street Journal. The article covers how most people would expect companies such as Ford, General Electric Co. and others to employ the most workers. However, these top known companies are not even close to being among the top employers. 

The companies that sit towards the top of the list commonly use outsourcing to help cut costs while being able to have their employees focus their time and energy on other products. Outsourcing is when a company will send tasks elsewhere, usually overseas, in order to cut costs. In turn, this is a driving factor of income inequality, underpaying workers, and supports poor workplace infrastructure. 

(Most common jobs that are outsourced)

For example, when a normal occupation for a company is then offered by an outsourcing firm, those employees can then be displaced, moved around, or moved into different positions. This usually leads to lower pay as well as employees not feeling secure. If all employees are under one large umbrella, wages and benefits are much more stable and predictable than when multiple outsourcing firms place employees at the same location.