Overtaken by offshore staff
Anyone else feel like they’re slowly being outsourced in real time?
Started with a “temporary” hiring freeze. Then every person who left got replaced offshore. Now the offshore team is growing fast, filling meetings, learning the systems, while the remaining local staff are somehow carrying even more workload than before.
I work in IT/projects, and lately the vibe is:
train people,
document everything,
absorb more pressure,
smile through endless meetings,
and quietly wonder if you’re helping automate your own exit.
The weird part is I don’t even blame the offshore staff. They’re just doing the opportunity in front of them like anyone would. My frustration is with corporate leadership treating people like interchangeable cost centres while pretending morale and productivity aren’t collapsing.
Work genuinely feels worse now:
more coordination,
more misunderstandings,
more process,
less ownership,
less trust,
and somehow still fewer people who can actually solve the hard problems.
Meanwhile management keeps talking about “global capability strategy” like they discovered fire.
I know this is happening across the industry, but I’m curious:
Has anyone seen this play out well long term?
Did your role survive or evolve?
What skills made people harder to replace?
How are people dealing with the constant anxiety that the knowledge transfer is eventually aimed at you?
Would appreciate real experiences.