From Council on Competitiveness
IBM CEO says U.S. must innovate to keep jobs Reuters (October 30, 2003)
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp. (IBM.N) Chief Executive Officer Samuel Palmisano said on Thursday that the United States needs to step up the pace of innovation to help stem the flow of technology jobs overseas.
Palmisano said that he expects 13 million jobs to be created in the next two years around the world, including in rapidly developing countries such as China, India and South Korea.
"We are at a critical moment," he said. "Because if we're not careful, the U.S. will fall out of step with the new realities of innovation. If that were to happen, the innovators and risk-takers would go elsewhere. Because today they can."
He was speaking at the annual meeting of the Council on Competitiveness in Washington D.C., which is creating a National Innovation Initiative to come up with ideas on how to continue to innovate in the face of such competition.
Other countries are becoming more competitive not only in wages but in education, job skills and network infrastructure, he said.
"We believe the United States must again raise the bar - to take the steps necessary to keep the nation at the forefront, to continue to offer the most fertile and attractive environment for innovation in the world," Palmisano said.
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