I work in Puerto Rico in one of the Control Towers. I start my working day at 4:30AM in order to support overseas operations. I hate that to death, but it is what it is. I've been in this rathole for a few years now, but I consider myself fortunate. The job market here is terrible, and you need to accept s--t like that in order to survive. We are untouchable (anti-layoffs) here in this team in Puerto Rico... The tax benefits are so huge that they won't mess with us (for not risking the benefits requirements). I hate the working hours, but I love the stability of keeping my job through all the changes and turmoils of this Company. The site management is always looking to grab roles from the Regions in order to beef up our presence here and make it more and more difficult to take back the jobs from us. Don't take me wrong guys, but this is about survival... If we can grab your job, we'll happily do so...
36 replies (most recent on top)
I found all this thread really disgusting and low, starting with the post from the OP...
What an attitude, bro...
@1myx, please allow me to "enlighten" your deep ignorance... Read the following articles, and THEN comment anything you want. Thank you, enlightened-wanna-be...
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2015-10-29/puerto-rico-s-debt-crisis-is-kind-of-congress-s-fault
http://fortune.com/2015/08/06/puerto-rico-default/
https://www.thenation.com/article/who-is-responsible-for-puerto-ricos-debt/
This post made me laugh. Did you see the Dana Carvey special on Netflix? The part about the chinese documentary? He could've used this in his bit.
@1bge, the key question would be what have they done with this "temporary" benefit to improve their situation. We can't continue subsidizing the s--t they created themselves. They have abused years and years of this benefit, and now they say their evonomy would collapse without it. BS... Their economy collapsed years ago by terrible decisions by different local administrations. It's not fair to the rest of the States. Why should we subsidize incompetence? Not fair. You got into the mess, you figure out how to fix it. I can't accept that my tax dollars subsidize those benefits.
PR is a tax haven for corporations because US Congress has allowed that to spur the economy of that struggling US Territory. That is not uncommon to countries to do from time to time. It will not be a permanent advantage. I am sure Congress will review the policy after some years.
I can't believe all the energy spent on this worthless and unfocused post/thread.
"Racist"? Dude... What's the matter with you... @1vsq didn't say anything improper. Gosh...
@1vsq, if you were dissatisfied with your stay, leave a pointless review like that in Expedia, and not here. That has absolutely NOTHING to do with what is being discussed in this forum. I agree that being a tourist in Puerto Rico might be an expensive proposition for some people, but hey... Something good we should be doing for having a hotel occupation above 80% all year long. I'm sick and tired of racist comments in disguise...
I stayed in the Caribe Hilton (San Juan) this past summer... They charged me 11% in government taxes AND a 18% "Resort Fee" (whatever that means). On top of that, they charged me $19 per night for self-parking (or $23 if valet). Staying there was ridiculously expensive. I could have stayed in the Dominican Republic for half of what I paid there. In addition to that, I called a Uber, and was almost lynched by several crazy taxi drivers. Add to that the fear of getting the Zika, and we could say those have been the most stressful vacations we've had in our entire life. There's no way I'll go back there to spend a dime. It's a crazy, aggressive, and dangerous place. I'm not surprised at all by the rudeness of the OP.
Whoever wrote this post needs to work on that filter that sits between your brain and your mouth.
"Verguenza ajena"... That's the term we use in the Island when we personally feel ashamed by the words or acts from others. In NO WAY the words of the OP represent us here. It's so embarrassing... I would like to be an ostrich right now in order to bury and hide my head in shame... The OP has gigantic b@lls. There are not that many people in that CT. It wouldn't be that difficult to find out who that "disgruntled" employee is. I'm more than sure the local Management would be "more than happy" to end his-her agony...
Bah... Those guys have a mega-mess with their finances, and are really screwed up. Let them keep the tax haven, or they will become the next Haiti in no time. I doubt Trump will mess with them. They already f----d up themselves... http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/03/29/Everything-You-Need-Know-About-Puerto-Rico-Debt-Crisis
I believe "Control Tower" is the term they use to define the teams down there managing overseas operations that qualify for the tax benefits program. If I'm not wrong, they either need to have a minimum headcount or some specific roles down there in order to justify the tax-avoidance trick. I'm not against tax benefits for Corporations to bring jobs. Most of the States actually do tax-related agreements all the time to foster their local economies. My big issue with Puerto Rico has always being that their tax haven gimmick is sponsored/subsidized at the Federal level, instead than at the State/Territory level. That gives them a huge unfair advantage on some specific product lines and services.
A person with an attitude like that shouldn't be part of HPE. Evidently, Granny Meg has been doing her purging in the wrong places... Tax loopholes (regardless of where they are located) should be eliminated. They surely benefit a few Corporations, but they screw up the health of our overall economy. I really hope Trump honors his word, and eradicate that economic cancer.
What the h--l is a Control Tower? Is that a Product Line? If so, which one?
OP, if you don't like your working hours, my peers in India will be more than happy to "grab" your job. I work in Houston, and I have peers in my team that are physically located in India, working Central time hours. They are 11.5 hours ahead of us, and I haven't heard anyone there complain ever. It's currently 12:45AM there, dude... Grow up!
Ok, please stop this non-sense. Ok, we are all US Citizens, and we all have the same rights... Understood. The problem was the attitude of the OP, and her/his peers disagree with what she/he wrote. Understood. Now, let's unite instead of being divided. This is a perfect example of why HPE always succeed treating us like garbage. They know we will never be able to align to fight back for a common purpose.
@irs, when you ask for jobs to "come back to the U.S.", they already did... We have them here in the Island. In case you don't know, PR is part of the States, and we are US Citizens...
I also work in PR and will apologize for the OP. Totally out of line dude and not reflective of who most of us are down here in PR. Karma will bite back at some point.
The reality is that PR is like any other state/country offering bodies for work. The tax incentive and cost of doing business is good for the bottom line then the company will do business in that state/country. For those in PR it was a little over 12 years ago that the Governor dared companies to leave PR over a proposed tax hike... and they did. The building I work in and many of the IT facilities on the NorthWest corner of the island are remodeled factories of old. The building next to my work facility is a reminder of that.
Puerto Ricans are American citizens and can travel freely to the states with out a passport (and vice versa). For the purpose of the off-shore / near-shore comparisons, I would look at PR similar to a state and when a company like HP, CSC, etc... decide to do business here consider the move as one from a high cost area like New York, California... to a lower cost area of the country like Alabama, etc... Its about the dollar bill and always will be.
"I hate the working hours..." I kinda LMAO at this one as you are probably off about 1300 or so... in time to pick your kids up from school, enjoy the sunny afternoon, beat the evening traffic on the road and stores... seriously, I would take your hours.
Half full... half empty... pick one.
I'm so glad Trump bringing jobs back to the U.S. where they belong Let's hold him to it!!
So inappropriate on so many levels. Hope you get flat out fired. It's called Karma...
OP, you are not "untouchable" and neither is anyone else no matter where they work. If you think a layoff can never happen to your group, you are living in fantasyland.
It's always the same... The ones that say that they are "untouchable" for x or y reason are the first ones that get booted out. Just wait, OP... Just wait a little bit... Enjoy your Pina Colada while you can.
This is not about races or Countries. This is purely about faulty public policies in the US that have been abused by big Corporations like HPE. Drastically limit/reduce the H1-Bs; reduce or eliminate government subsidized tax advantages; and put big tariffs on products manufactured overseas, and you'll see how A LOT of jobs come back to the US. I am really sorry if a lot of people overseas eventually loose their jobs if this is implemented (even at a small scale), but the truth of the matter is that those jobs should have never left the US in the first place. Puerto Rico is a complex exception, as they are a US territory, and people born there I believe are US Citizens... I'm not sure how this Administration would deal with that.
I work in Puerto Rico and I'm ashamed by the post of the OP. You will NEVER hear someone around here expressing like that. We are not "hunting/chasing" to take the job from anyone...
@krh, you want us to follow the example of the autoworkers and unionize??? No thanks. I live in a Rust Belt state and can see first hand where that will lead us. Those great union automotive jobs you talk about from "years ago" all moved out of the US for cheaper labor, too.
@krh, tell me where the heroes are, because the only ones I see around me are the a------s ready to back-stab at the slightest chance...
Martha B.: These things happen when employees are not Unionized. No Union = No Rights = Backstabbing Survival. When I started my career ( a lot of years ago), I did it in the automotive Industry in Detroit. The things that you see now would have NEVER happened back then. It's too bad most Syndicates have become a joke, and exist just to collect the fees and make a few very wealthy. I have faith that at some time very soon there will be a true awakening of the workforce, and the HPE employees will form some kind of Union in the US. That is the only way this craziness will end. In times of desperation a lot of heroes emerge... but a lot of a------s emerge as well.
It never ceases to amaze me how insensitive some people can be... Being forced out of a job is a tragedy for the impacted person, as well as her/his family and close friends. Looking for the opportunity to "grab" jobs speak so low of us as a society... Just imagine what would happen if we ever face a shortage of the "basics", such as water, food, shelter, etc. We would behave worst than the most savage animals. Posts like this make me really sad...What a disrespect for the impacted peers...
BS... I know first hand there have been layoffs in Puerto Rico. I don't think my old peer worked in a Control Tower, but he was a Manufacturing Engineer with almost 20 years of experience and was kicked out around 3 years ago. Like everywhere in HPE, if your job can be eliminated (or moved to a lower cost area), it will be done, regardless of where you currently are.
If Trump makes the slightest change in the tax haven incentives in Puerto Rico, everything related to manufacturing there will collapse. Without the tax incentives (which I personally consider very unfair to the other States), the cost structure there is more expensive than a lot of places here. The ONLY reason HPE has a presence there is because of the tax savings. Whenever Cuba opens for manufacturing and get the appropriate infrastructure in place no one will manufacture anything in that Island. Yes, it will probably take a lot of years, but it will happen sooner or later.
@dfa - I think her/his point is that there will always be someone waiting to take your job, no matter how bad you think it is. The message of the OP is more than clear, but the attitude and the wording were terrible. EVERYONE in HPE is subject to be kicked out in no time. Thinking otherwise because you feel "protected" by Government-related incentives is being a big ignorant (I was going to use another word).
Your job is safe until another country can undercut you, just like you are so smugly bragging about now. Just like Costa Rica is doing. HPE has no loyalty to you. And you all have no loyalty to them. That's well known.
Sorry you live in such a st hole of a country. Hopefully you and your countrymen can get your st together and make it great like the US.
HPE's goal is to have as few employees as possible, anywhere. That's why there have been layoffs in India, etc. You're clueless if you think PR will never be affected, Meg will lay some of you off Just to show you who is in charge and just because she can.
What the heck is your point here?