Impact of the financial and economic crisis on expats

[8176]

I am a journalist and look for expats who lost their job or fear to lose their job due to the worldwide financial and economic crisis.

Of course, I am also interested in reading opinions about the impact of the crisis on expats in this forum.

[Bafana]

Do not believe the economic crisis will affect my work in Singapore.

Some of you may know that I am leaving shortly but this has nothing to do with the job market and everything to do with wanting to go home. I will still be doing close to 50% of my business in Singapore and/or with Singaporean firms - The only change will be that I will be doing it from Aussie close to my family.

If anything this crisis is good for my business as I deal with government projects which were held during the casino rush and are no being released.

Any expat who losses their job will pick one up again either here, at home or elsewhere in the big wide world. They are the cream of the crop and that is why they get the big bucks and opportunities. Singapore's challenge is to hold on to them to avoid a greater fall from grace and to enable a bounce back.

Singaporeans are not fools and they mind their money. They employee expats because it either directly makes the money or enables it. They don't engage expats because they feel like giving handouts to highly educated foreigners.

I am more worried for locals who will get squeezed even harder - Not because of need but because their local bosses will take advantage of job market fears and the cancerous cover your butt work culture.