Dollar/Thrifty Weighs Outsourcing

I haven’t seen it detailed anywhere else, so for those who are following the potential loss of high paying Information Technology jobs here in Tulsa, here is what is know about the outsourcing of jobs at Dollar/Thrifty.

The process of outsourcing will look at the entire IT department. This affects at least 300 people currently at DTAG. The company will break up the process into three phases. Each phase is scheduled to take from 6 to 8 weeks. The first phase will be an assessment of current contracts with EDS and future needs. The second phase is negotiation with EDS on needed services and what that cost will be to DTAG. DTAG may look at other outsource providers if they think there might be a better deal. The third and last phase is the finalization of an outsource agreement, and transition of work over to that provider.

It is expected that only 3 – 6% of current IT employees will remain with Dollar/Thrifty. Of the vast majority left over, around 50% will be offered jobs at EDS. The rest will be given severance. Getting a position at EDS does not assure that the position will be in Tulsa. Relocation will be necessary for some people. DTAG has already determined the formula for severance.

One of the ways that a company like EDS can offer cheaper IT services is to find the avenues where IT costs are at a minimum. This can’t be done by taking on all of the employees from a new client. A few key people can be taken on, and the rest of the work pushed off to somewhere else. If you have doubts about that, take a look at what EDS is doing to acquire cheap labor.

My guess would be that you don’t start down this path (and announce it) unless you are pretty sure of the final outcome. Whether the distress of potential job loss and loss of brain power to another shore is a good thing,,, that is a discussion for another day.