What a week Google has had. Putting its foot down on China’s demand to censor the search results on its Chinese service could see them pulling out of the country altogether. A multi-billion dollar business with ethics - who would have thought it?

Google were not the only company in the news this week who are being eulogised for their social awareness. It was revealed on Thursday that IBM has topped the Stonewall list of gay-friendly employers for the second time in four years.

Stonewall is a UK lesbian, gay and bisexual charity, and published its Top 100 Employers 2010 during the week. IBM has topped the list, being named the best place to work in the UK for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. It seems even outsourcers have a social conscience.

However, employees at Bosch may not be feeling as warmly about the outsourcing industry as the employees at IBM. On Friday, the German manufacturing company announced its plans to close a car plant in Wales and move the remaining production to an existing plant in Hungary, leading to significant job cuts.

The subsequent loss of 900 jobs in the UK is a result of an almost 50 per cent fall in demand for luxury vehicles. Looks like the sector can’t please all of the people, all of the time.

Also this week, in a total role reversal, Barclays has brought outsourced applications back in-house. The bank has decided it will not renew its £400m outsourcing deal with Accenture.

The move will see 230 out of the 900 technology staff who moved to Accenture when the deal was signed in 2004, return to Barclays. With the general consensus that outsourcing is on the up, this seems to be an interesting move by Barclays. Sourcingfocus.com will ensure you are kept updated on the progress.

Never a dull moment in the sourcing industry as this week of ups and downs demonstrates. But then, when does the course of business ever run smooth?