Right on the heels of support staff layoffs, and also on-shore outsourcing efforts at the hands of O’Melveny & Myers, we have some news of another law firm doing the exact same thing. Except for the fact that this law firm has figured out a way to do it with half of the tears, and a ton less relocation angst.
On-Shore outsourcing will definitely be better for the American economy than to just send everyone overseas, and Pillbury Winthrop has figured out a great way to do it that doesn’t involve shipping everyone off to the poor third-world country, more commonly known as ”West Virginia”.
As Pillsbury moves their staff operations farther down south, the firm has decided to bring some of its executives with them.
Today, Pillsbury announced that it would be opening a Professional Services Center down in Nashville, Tennessee. The firm expects to start transferring their current staff members and recruiting new staff to work in Nashville this week, and they have high hopes that the Center will be fully operational by the end of next year.
At least these people get to experience the wonderful Grand Ole Opry, instead of whatever West Virginia has to offer, if there is anything there to offer.
The firm has provided more information about the switch in this press release:
”Individuals at the new facility will include support staff who are critical to Pillsbury’s operations but who are able to work outside of the firm’s currents practice offices. The center will provide services in the areas of information, technology, finance, new client, intake, word processing, and other non-legal professional service. Eventually, the Nashville center will have approximately 150 employees, including professionals recruited from the region as well as current professionals who transfer to the center.”
So, not only is Pillsbury’s on-shore outsourcing going to hand out jobs, but now the firm is also going to throw some executive muscle behind its decision. A few of the people who will be relocating to Nashville to set up and run the center, are the firm’s CFO Sean Whelan, and also the firm’s CIO, Martin Metz.
This is definitely a better that O’Melveny’s idea, which was to simply give people the cute in favor of ”technology driven efficiencies”
Someone also says that Pillsbury is playing nice and will be offering the following staff who plan to relocate:
”Two weekends in November are set up, firm sponsored, for people to go and check out the Nashville area, talk to companies who have done the same thing, talk to real estate agents, or even rent a car and go explore on their own, also firm paid. They have to give their intent to relocate or not by January 14. They will be expected to start the move around May. Relocation money will be available. Salaries will be reduced in accordance with the Nashville market rate for the relocated jobs, though we have been told that the pay will be higher than the Nashville average.”