Recession driving out Citys expatriates

Recession driving out Citys expatriates
Kate Newton,DH News Service,Bangalore:
The recession has made times tough for Bangalores large expatriate population, with some packing up and heading back home as foreign companies cut costs and jobs.
Foreigners Registration Office figures showed an increase in foreign nationals living in Bangalore from 6,250 in 2005 to 8,900 in 2008, but anecdotal evidence from expatriates themselves suggests that figure may now drop.
Bangalore Expatriates’ Club president Rienke van Niuewland told Deccan Herald that although stories varied, many expatriates she knew were finding things harder.“I know that some people have gone back because projects have ended and they couldn’t find new projects.”
Not all of them were likely to find relief in their home countries, either. “People who went back to America were worried that they wouldn’t find jobs,” Niuewland said. She and her husband were not too worried, but were still keeping a close eye on their own situation, she said.
“My husband signed for four years and consultants in his company have been let off earlier. I think the next group will be expats. But when we moved here we knew that there will be more risks if we go abroad”
However, recession is not bad news for all expats. “There are also other people who are staying here because of the recession since they think the downturn would provide new opportunities,” she said.
American Annelee Gundersen, a fashion designer and yoga instructor, said she had no plans to return home but had already seen at least ten friends, mostly bankers, leave Bangalore.
“A lot of my friends were forced back home. It costs their firms a lot more to keep them here than have them at home.” She had noticed the recession’s impact on her fashion business, but said it was not too serious as she only dealt in small volumes.
Fellow American Ronak Vyas, who runs a men’s magazine, has no plans to leave Bangalore but said the recession had forced to cut costs. “Definitely it has impacted me,” he said, “But it’s not to the point where we have to shut down.”
Vyas said his condition was better than it would have been in the US, where it was much harder to cut overheads. Other expats had been much more seriously affected, he said.