Global Turmoil Blamed For Drop In Expatriates

Reflecting their caution about global economic performance, companies are now dispatching fewer employees abroad than they have in recent years. Only about 50% of senior human-resource and international-relocation specialists, a new survey shows, expect the number of expatriates to rise this year, compared with 65% to 70% anticipating expatriate growth in recent years. Windham International, New York, the Institute of International Human Resources, Alexandria, Va., and the National Foreign Trade Council, also in New York, sponsored the survey of about 250 firms, mostly U.S.-based multinationals. Not surprisingly, some 29% of those surveyed anticipate fewer postings in Asia; 28% foresee a 1999 falloff in Europe; 27% expect to see fewer Latin American assignments; and 19% figure the number of expatriates will be down in the U.S. and Canada.