IMF moving IT jobs to offshore firm | Computerworld – Computerworld

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The International Monetary Fund in Washington is shifting some of its IT work overseas, and somewhere between 100 and 200 IT workers are impacted by this change.

The work is being taken over by India-based IT managed services provider L&T Infotech, and the change was announced to the staff last year. The transition, which involves training L&T employees, is continuing through the end of this year. IMF IT workers are being to encourage to stay by means of an incentive package.

The affected IT workers are all third-party contractors. Some of the contractors have been working at the IMF for five and 10 years or longer, and are viewed as staff for most purposes.

"Some people are just mad," said one affected IT employee, who requested anonymity. "Why are they bringing people in from overseas to do these jobs?" Computerworld reached several IMF IT workers.

The affected areas include networking, security, servers and desktops.

L&T Infotech, is an H-1B dependent firm, meaning 15% or more of staff works on temporary visas. IMF IT workers reached weren't certain if the contractor's employees were on a visa. One IT worker said that Labor Condition Application notices from the contractor, indicating the salary and workplace of a visa worker, had been posted in their office.

The employees say that a number of IT workers have left for other jobs. L&T is expected to offer jobs to a small number.

The IMF is based in downtown Washington and its IT operations are located about three blocks from the White House.

One of the third-party contractors that supplies IT workers to the IMF is TEKsystems. Computerworld asked whether it will find the workers new jobs. Nathan Bowen, TEKsystems spokesperson, in a written statement said: "As long as the IMF employees working under contract from TEKsystems are in good standing and have expressed interest in continuing to find employment through TEKsystems, then our recruiters will actively pursue contracts that fit their needs."

Computerworld contacted the IMF by email and phone, but the organization did not respond to a request for comment. But the IMF did release an unrelated statement Thursday afternoon describing IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde's meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, telling him that the IMF was interested in creating jobs.

This statement said, in part, "Madame Lagarde expressed the IMF's desire to continue close engagement with the U.S. to encourage policies that will promote growth, stability, and job creation in the U.S. and globally."

Senior Editor Patrick Thibodeau covers Internet of Things, enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld.