How much remote work the US is employing from abroad? | Hacker News Reader

How much remote work the US is employing from abroad?

12 pointsflr00112 comments

I haven't been able to locate any reports providing estimates on the number of non-US citizens who work remotely from abroad for US companies. I understand that this data may be inherently elusive, but I was hopeful of finding some rough estimates regarding the market size.

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Almost all big tech companies have offices in many parts of the world so they would all count as "non US citizens employed by US companies". Many smaller companies also do that because they cannot always afford to pay US equivalent salaries but can find talent in other parts of the world at a much cheaper rate (and No, cheaper is not always worse. Sometimes it is just about cost of living and other benefits that people are looking for ).

I don't have numbers, but in my experience I'd say "a lot." The freelancers I know try to get US customers because they get paid more.

Companies may hire remote non-citizens as contractors because that avoids any real or perceived labor law, visa, and tax issues. If they have actual employees in other countries most likely that's through a branch office.

I think most of the remote non-citizen employment happens through what we call offshoring. US companies contract with software shops and agencies in low cost of labor countries with no huge language barrier -- India comes to mind. The people doing the work aren't employees or freelancers, they are like factory workers making shoes for Nike in Vietnam, employed by a local company that contracts out for work. With that setup only the managers need to speak English.

> work remotely from abroad for US companies

What specifically does this mean? Is a British citizen who works at the Google / Meta / Goldman Sachs office in London such a person?

Not OP, but I would guess the OP is asking about how many jobs are being offshored to other countries by US companies

Are the people working for US companies in London not "offshored"?

It's sort of like, when a British person lives in America they're an "expatriate", but if an Indian lives in America they're an "immigrant".

Just the way the world spins.

(Off-topic non-relevant story follows)

I once flew Air India from New Delhi to Chicago. 15 hour non-stop run. At O'Hare, as we were exiting the airplane the airport (airline?) staff waiting to pick up the wheelchair passengers were saying random words loudly in mock Indian accent and laughing.

I wonder how they greet passengers disembarking a Lufthansa.

Ask any random German, 75+ years on they're still getting Don't mention the war! and other clever out takes from Fawlty Towers thrown about.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Germans

If not that then it's Tucker Carlson fanboi's sidling up and wanting to be besties.

> Don't mention the war!

Oh okay!

(Unaware of Tucker Carlson).

I don't know if there is a number somewhere but me and most of my peers that live in Latin America that achieve certain level of proficiency we all work for Us or Europe and not for our local economies

I'm sure it's a thing. I work remotely for a US subsidiary of a Japanese company and several of my coworkers work from yet other countries.

I wonder why US voters don’t outlaw outsourcing. There is a lot of it.

This would be very easy with a simple tax change. Outsourced salaries are no longer deductible as a business expense. Right now, taxpayers subsidize outsourcing.

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