Fewer expats. The big apartment on the 20th floor with a view on Shanghai’s skyscrapers seems pretty empty. After nine months living in China, Karine is quickly gathering her last boxes in the middle of the living room. The couch, the curtains and the plants are almost new, she didn’t plan on leaving so early. In her room, her daughter, Colombe, two years old, is saying goodbye to Ayi, her Chinese nurse, in Chinese. “The hardest will be to find someone to watch after the child, my husband is already back to work in Paris and I’m staying on parental leave” Karine sighed. Because of the crisis, more and more expatriates are asked to pack their bags. “Many businesses choose this method to cut costs; with their very advantageous packages, expats are two to three times more expensive than a local executive” explained Li Hua, lawyer specialized in social law at Gide Loyrette Nouel in Beijing. Many “impatriates” (expatriates back to their country of origin) get back to a job in accordance with their position at the headquarters, and businesses save on the side (school, rent, language classes…), and they also avoid layoffs.
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any businesses choose this
method to cut costs; with their very advantageous packages, expats are two to
three times more expensive than a local executive” explained Li Hua, lawyer
specialized in social law at Gide Loyrette Nouel in Beijing. Many “impatriates” (expatriates back to their
country of origin) get back to a job in accordance with their position at the headquarters,
and businesses save on the side (school, rent, language classes…), and they also avoid
layoffs.

But this phenomenon
isn’

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