Since 2011, outsourcing jobs have become a major part of how American companies produce goods. Outsourcing work occurs when you obtain goods or services from an overseas supplier rather than an internal supplier. Many American companies pay people in other countries to produce goods instead of producing them here at home because it seems cheaper. This practice, initially seen as a solution to the rising prices of consumer goods, has also become a problem. Even though outsourcing eliminates jobs here in the United States, it helps us by lowering the prices of consumer goods. Many large and small businesses outsource jobs. Major companies such as General Electric, Caterpillar, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Chevron, Cisco, Intel, Stanley Works, Merck, United Technologies and Oracle have all cut jobs and recently reduced their workforce by 2.9 million people and hired 2.4 million abroad. the last decade. (Jilani) Many of these big companies are outsourcing jobs because people in China, Korea, Indonesia and many other countries will work for much lower wages than in the United States, which in turn will make the cheaper things for American consumers. Large companies are not the only culprits in our sourcing. While they can do this on a massive scale and take away the most jobs from us in the United States, small businesses also outsource jobs. Gene Marks, a Huffington Po writer and self-proclaimed “outsourcing junkie,” says, “Outsourcing is a quick high and a way to feel… profitable. » He owns a small business and uses outsourcing for several reasons. It may be no secret that sending jobs overseas results in cheaper production than in the United States, but why? Gene Marks, is this because... middle of paper ......m by taking jobs away from our communities it is supposed to help us in the long run. In the United States, production workers want to receive more money than business owners want to pay. This forces owners to send their work overseas for lower production costs, which has both good and bad sides. The real question, however, remains unanswered: whether outsourcing is a good or bad thing. The real question remains: When we outsource jobs to foreign countries, are we selling more than just our jobs to other countries? Works Cited Hargreaves, Steve. CNN Money: The case for outsourcing jobs. September 14, 2012. November 13, 2013. Jilani, Zaid. GRAPHIC: Leading “American” companies have outsourced more than 2.4 million American jobs over the past decade. April 19, 2011. November 11, 2013. Marks, Gene. Huffington Post: Hello, I'm an outsourcing junkie. August 13, 2012. November 11 2013.