Asian Job Market Is Still a Vibrant One
As the 140-plus pages of job listings in last Saturday’s South China Morning Post attest, companies in Asia--both home-grown and multinationals--are still hiring.
In spite of the high-visibility bankruptcies and drastic job cutbacks in Asia’s hardest-hit economies, the job market remains brisk, according to representatives of U.S. executive search firms.
But multinationals hiring in the midst of Asia’s worst economic crisis are much more selective than they were during the heady days of double-digit expansion and are offering new employees lower salaries and slimmed-down benefits packages.
“It’s not as depressing as one might imagine,” said Andrew Tsui, managing director for Los Angeles-based Korn/Ferry International’s Hong Kong office, which is one of the region’s largest executive search operations. “It’s more of a cautious mentality.”
The greatest employment casualties so far have been in Asia’s financial, retail and construction industries. From Tokyo to Bangkok and Seoul, debt-laden financial institutions are being shut down, merged and forced to cut back their employment rolls. Job insecurity has been stoked by several spectacular bankruptcies, including the collapse of Hong Kong giant Peregrine Investments Holdings Ltd. and layoffs at Jardine Fleming Securities Ltd. and other large investment firms.
But Tsui said many financial institutions, convinced that Asia remains the best place for long-term growth, are opening offices in countries like Indonesia and Thailand. They are seeking people with “turbulent-market management skills” in areas such as acquisitions and mergers, corporate restructuring and bankruptcy workouts. Particularly desirable are those with experience in Latin America during the Mexican peso crisis, or other emerging markets that have experienced severe currency and stock market volatility.
“There seem to be a lot of bargains around the region, especially in the devalued areas, and companies are setting themselves up to take advantage of this opportunity,” he said.
Traditionally close-mouthed Asian firms, under pressure to clean up their books and be more responsive to their bankers and shareholders, are also bringing in people experienced in corporate image-building, according to Tsui.
“With all these changes going on, corporations want to send the right message to the world,” he said. “They want to tell people what they’re good at and what they’re not.” But executives with skeletons in their corporate closets should not be looking for a job in Asia, Tsui warned. He said companies are particularly skittish about hiring anyone who has been “tainted by scandals.”
Larry Wang, a principal at Wang & Li Asia Resources, which has offices in Hong Kong and Taipei, said foreign executives are particularly vulnerable to being cut because of their high price tags. Wang said a typical expatriate can cost $500,000 to $1 million a year for salary, housing, schooling for children, club fees, car and driver and other benefits.
Wang said it is much easier than it used to be to find talented local hires or expatriates willing to live with a “localized” salary package. He also advises companies to reduce or eliminate hardship compensation traditionally paid to employees living in major Chinese cities. “Shanghai and Beijing are much more livable cities,” he said.
Wang said Asian Americans or Asians schooled in the U.S. are particularly well-suited to this environment because they combine bicultural expertise with a knowledge of Western management and marketing.
“This [situation] has created a need for people that offer what these Western expats can offer, such as Western thinking and knowledge of the corporate culture, but are willing to do it more locally and more affordably,” he said.
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Evelyn Iritani can be reached by e-mail at evelyn.iritani@latimes.com or by fax at (213) 237-7837.
