The company structure is full of middle managers, and getting anything done requires multiple levels of approval. At any time, one manager can change his mind about something and put an entire project in limbo. If a project requires a large capital appropriation, expect that process to take a year or more. I've seen cases in which it took so long to get going on a project that the initial idea had to be scrapped because the underlying technology had become obsolete by the time funding was approved. Even when no money is necessary for a project, the company is very slow and conservative. If our competition ever figures out how to move more quickly, we'll be in serious trouble.
For certain functions (engineering and IT in particular), Eaton will try to save a few bucks by hiring in India. Some of this is out of necessity, we are a global company with a large presence in that part of the world, and American workers don't like getting calls in the middle of the night when something goes wrong over there. But in other cases, they've reviewed the cost of American workers and have chosen foreign contractors instead. The turnover rate is very high in India, and I know of several examples where we've dedicated a resource to training employees in India for months at a time, only to have these employees leave for another job as soon as their training is finished. The skill levels of these workers ranges from totally incompetent to decent, but even the best ones I've worked with do not have the skills of the typical domestic candidate. They might cost less, but not when you consider that they take months to complete a project that should take weeks. Management needs to look at opportunity cost, not just financial cost. I've also received a lot of negative feedback from coworkers outside my group, who are used to calling me for help and now have to call India.
