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Asia Situation Still Not as Severe as Global Headquarters in Terms of HR Cutbacks

The Chapman Consulting Group’s February 2009 poll which surveyed HR practitioners across 13 countries on current workforce planning trends has found that cutbacks in staff numbers have still not been as severe in Asia Pacific Japan as at global headquarters.

Around 34% of respondents surveyed felt that downsizing at global headquarters was being undertaken at the same proportion as in the Asia Pacific Japan region. However a further 33% felt that downsizing in the Asia Pacific Region had not been as severe as what was being experienced at the global headquarter level. Less than 10% of HR practitioners were experiencing worse cutbacks in the region versus the global level.

Interestingly, 24% of those surveyed said that their company was proving to be more resilient in the face of the global downturn, with no downsizing happening at either global headquarters or in the Asia Pacific Japan region. The jury is still out on whether we’ve seen the worst in Asia Pacific Japan, or whether more is still to come. “As time passes by and hopes of speedy economic improvement subside, more companies have time to build this pessimism into their headcount targets”, said Matthew Chapman, Managing Director of The Chapman Consulting Group.

“We’re seeing fewer companies across the region making the same dramatic cutbacks ‘overnight’ that we saw in Quarter Four, but we’re now seeing significantly less recruitment of proactive positions and fewer positions re-filled where people leave”, said Chapman. “Many organisations have been re-deploying staff from slowing business segments into others that are showing growth, and others are being offered positions outside their specialisations. To some extent this is softening what would otherwise be a sharper blow”, mentioned Chapman.

Asked about the variance between global and Asia Pacific Japan cutbacks, Chapman speculated that more of the gloom of global downsizing is being felt in North America and Europe still, than Asia Pacific Japan. “Asian markets could still be propping things up, to a certain extent”, said Chapman, “and most international companies have made significant investments in the region over the past five years, so are resistant to pulling apart all that they’ve carefully been building. The consensus seems to be that when the upturn finally comes, it will be this part of the world that will lead the global recovery.”

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