Multinational companies operating in the Asia-Pacific region are responding to the economic downturn by pushing foreign employees working in the region to switch to cheaper local work contracts more aggressively than in other parts of the world, according to Mercer, the consultancy.

In a worldwide survey of 700 companies conducted in February, Mercer found 57 per cent of Asia-Pacific respondents were looking to switch expatriate employees to local contracts to cut costs and help counter the economic slowdown, compared with 36 per cent in Latin America, 32 per cent in Europe and 29 per cent in North America.