$Talent strategy in a fractured world$

Talent strategy in a fractured world

Executive summary

In 2025, escalating US–China trade tensions have triggered a series of shifts in corporate strategy, with direct consequences for Global Mobility. This white paper examines how geopolitical pressures are transforming Global Mobility. It explores the rise of short-term and commuter assignments, the growing complexity of compliance and the strategic importance of mobility in enabling resilience. For HR and mobility leaders, these developments are not abstract — they are operational realities that require a faster, more coordinated and more employee-centred approach.

Global Mobility is rapidly transforming. It is no longer just about recruitment and relocation. It is becoming a strategic tool for business continuity, workforce agility and long-term organisational success.

Introduction

The global trade environment has entered a period of renewed volatility. In early 2025, the United States escalated its trade measures against China, introducing tariffs of up to 145% on a wide range of imports¹. This move has had ripple effects far beyond trade, forcing multinational companies to reassess their global operations, regional dependencies and talent strategies.

In this environment, mobility has become more than a transactional function. The ability to move key talent quickly and compliantly now plays a critical role in how organisations respond to shifting supply chains, regulatory changes and commercial uncertainty. Mobility professionals are being asked to deliver solutions that balance speed, compliance, employee experience and cost — often under tight timelines and across unfamiliar jurisdictions.

At the same time, mobility strategies are becoming more complex. The traditional long-term assignment continues to thrive on a more selective basis — and in parallel, organisations are likely to increase the use of short-term assignments, projects and other more fluid work arrangements. These include increased commuter travel, international business trips and rotational programmes that will inject different skills and experience as progress is made with growing the organisation in the new host location. Each of these presents different but consistent challenges across enterprise and employment tax, immigration and duty of care for employee wellbeing.

This paper explores the evolving role of mobility in a world impacted by tariffs, protectionism and geopolitical tensions. It draws on recent developments, anonymised case studies and practical insights to support HR and mobility leaders tasked with keeping talent mobile and businesses moving forward. Ongoing tariff fluctuations — including recent moves affecting smartphones and potential semiconductor tariffs — continue to add urgency, reinforcing the need for flexible and responsive mobility strategies.

Main sections

The impact of tariffs on Global Mobility

The reintroduction and escalation of tariffs by the United States in 2025, targeting Chinese imports with rates as high as 145%¹, has created a ripple effect across global supply chains. This shift, while economic at its core, has had direct consequences for mobility leaders tasked with aligning talent deployment with operational resilience. For many organisations, the talent mobility function has quickly moved from an enabling service to a strategic necessity.

One of the most immediate effects has been the acceleration of supply chain realignment. Businesses reliant on Chinese manufacturing have faced mounting costs and uncertainty. In response, many have opted to near-shore or relocate production to alternative markets in Southeast Asia, India, Mexico, or Eastern Europe². These operational shifts require agile and timely redeployment of critical talent — from engineering and procurement roles to supply chain and compliance leads.

As a result, traditional long-term relocations, at this stage of supply chain realignment, will often be replaced by shorter assignments, project-based deployments and commuter arrangements. As projects shift to longer-term phases, the use of traditional assignments is likely to follow. This enables greater organisational agility, balancing business continuity with cost control and avoiding other compliance risks such as permanent establishment in new jurisdictions.

The mobility implications of these trends include:

Increased urgency and reduced planning time for relocations, as organisations respond to fast-changing regulatory environments and shifting production timelines.

For example, several US-based tech manufacturers fast-tracked supply chain roles into Thailand and Vietnam within a four-week window after shifting production out of China.

Greater demand for regional expertise, particularly in ASEAN countries, where infrastructure and immigration rules can vary significantly.

A European automotive group encountered assignment delays when local immigration requirements in Indonesia differed from initial estimates provided by their legal team.

Pressure on internal resources, as mobility teams must manage traditional mobility deployments in parallel with more dynamic and fluid mobility work arrangements.

One global life sciences company now manages five assignment types across three regions, all tracked manually, due to system limitations and lack of policy consolidation.

Talent attraction – organisations may need to mobilise employees with the right skills and experience and where these are not available internally, Global Mobility will play a key role in supporting talent attraction, often in the face of stiff competition.

When talent is sourced from existing domestic employees who are mobilised internationally, investing in their ability to integrate quickly in the new host environment (and avoid turnover) will be a key part of Global Mobility’s role. Cultural and language support are not ‘soft’ options but a platform for success to become effective and productive in the new location.

Global Mobility therefore has a window of opportunity to become more engaged with strategic planning, applying their technical value to influence a compliant and structured approach to new locations.

Complex coordination with external partners, such as legal counsel, tax advisers and destination services providers, often under compressed timelines.

A multinational retailer relocating employees into India for a distribution hub faced delays due to overlapping visa documentation, payroll registration and housing readiness — all requiring tight coordination across four vendors.

Moreover, the risk landscape is evolving. Tariff-driven decisions often bypass long-term workforce planning, which introduces challenges in visa lead times, housing availability and host country support. There are also security and reputational risks in certain jurisdictions where geopolitical tensions are high. HR and mobility leaders must factor in these risks alongside operational demands, balancing business continuity with duty of care.

In short, the 2025 US–China tariff measures have added further urgency to the way talent is deployed. The ability to move the right people at the right time, into often unfamiliar jurisdictions, remains a key driver of business resilience.

Compliance and regulatory challenges

As Global Mobility strategies adapt to the geopolitical tensions between the US and China, organisations are encountering a growing set of compliance risks. The rise of short-term, commuter and project-based assignments to new locations creates far more regulatory complexity than traditional long-term deployments to established locations. While these agile models provide flexibility, they can potentially expose organisations and relocating employees to unexpected tax liabilities, legal obligations and immigration hurdles.

One of the most pressing challenges is tax exposure across multiple jurisdictions. Without proper planning, employers risk breaching host country tax regulations, creating corporate and employment tax risks.

Similarly, immigration requirements are often underestimated. Some short-term deployments may not require a work permit, while others do — depending on the type of work, duration and host country regulations. The margin for error is small and the reputational consequences of non-compliance can be significant, particularly in countries where enforcement has become more stringent.

There is also a broader operational challenge: compliance often depends on internal coordination across multiple functions, including tax, legal, HR and mobility. When these departments are siloed, international mobilisations may proceed without adequate controls and documentation. This is particularly common when business units drive urgent talent moves in response to supply chain disruptions, bypassing normal mobility processes.

To ensure rapid but compliant cross-border mobilisation, organisations should be:

Involving their Global Mobility team at the earliest planning stages.
If not already in place, developing policies for short-term and other cross-border arrangements.
Strengthening approval workflows and central tracking systems.
Partnering with external suppliers to assess tax, legal and immigration requirements — and for employees, providing a briefing on host environment conditions before creating a footprint in the new location.
Providing clear guidance to relocating employees about the support that will be provided, their personal responsibilities and potential risks.

At the enterprise level, non-compliance is a significant risk — reputationally, operationally and financially. It is a principal priority for executive leadership and getting it wrong can delay assignments, increase costs and damage employer reputation. Cutting corners when shifting to new markets and making assumptions can lead to very expensive lessons — ones that can be avoided if the steps above are actioned.

Strategic role of mobility in business resilience

Global Mobility is increasingly more than a transactional HR function. In the face of shifting supply chains, geopolitical instability and increasing protectionism, GM has adopted a core strategic role in enabling organisational resilience. The ability to move key talent quickly and compliantly is now central to how businesses respond to disruption, protect operations and pursue new growth opportunities.

The 2025 US–China tariff escalation has forced organisations to re-evaluate their global presence and supply chain strategies. In many cases, this has led to urgent talent deployment in alternative markets, requiring close coordination between HR, business leaders, legal and finance. Mobility teams are now at the epicentre of enabling their organisation to adapt and thrive in a controlled, compliant model of continued growth.

From a human dimension, there is growing recognition that employee wellbeing and retention must be part of the resilience equation. Frequent or high-pressure deployments — particularly to unfamiliar or underdeveloped markets — can lead to burnout, dissatisfaction, or attrition if not managed with care. In this environment, mobility teams must balance operational needs with support structures that protect the individual experience.

Business resilience also depends on having the right infrastructure and relationships in place. This includes:

Strong internal governance, so that mobility can act quickly with appropriate approvals.
Collaborative relationships with legal, tax and compliance stakeholders to reduce friction.
Reliable external partners, who can provide local expertise, secure immigration pathways and address in-country risks.
Data-driven decision-making, enabling mobility leaders to model different deployment scenarios and assess downstream impacts.

Ultimately, mobility professionals are being asked to solve more complex problems in less predictable environments. Their remit now touches supply chain strategy, compliance, workforce planning and wellbeing.

Case studies

Case study 1: Shifting operations out of China

A multinational manufacturing business faced urgent pressure to respond to the new US tariff measures on Chinese imports. A significant portion of its production was based in southern China but the increased costs and uncertain regulatory outlook prompted senior leadership to expedite a strategic withdrawal. Vietnam and Malaysia were identified as alternative production bases due to their lower trade risk and improving infrastructure.

The challenge was that the new facilities needed to be operational within three months — and the local workforce alone couldn’t support the required set-up. The organisation had to relocate a taskforce of supply chain managers, procurement experts and technical leads to oversee supplier vetting, equipment transfers and compliance audits.

The mobility team implemented a short-term assignment model, rotating employees from the US, EU and China into Southeast Asia on staggered deployments. Because the countries involved had varying visa and work authorisation requirements, the company worked closely with immigration advisers to avoid delays and ensure proper classification of each employee’s work activities. The success of the project ultimately relied on this ability to move people fast, compliantly and with minimal disruption to their home operations.

The short-term model also allowed the company to avoid long-term relocation costs and adapt its deployment strategy as the market evolved. Post-rollout feedback led to the introduction of wellbeing support and mental health check-ins for staff sent on high-pressure, time-sensitive assignments in unfamiliar settings.

Case study 2: Short-term mobility to maintain supplier continuity in China

A global electronics company headquartered in Europe faced mounting pressure to manage supply chain instability after the US–China tariff escalation affected several of its Chinese-based component suppliers. While the company had no plans to fully exit China, it needed to transition operations to a smaller set of vetted suppliers who could meet new compliance, pricing and ESG requirements.

To manage the process on the ground, a small group of supply chain analysts, audit leads and legal compliance experts were deployed on staggered short-term assignments into Guangdong and Jiangsu. The group worked intensively for six to eight weeks at a time, conducting due diligence, negotiating new contracts and ensuring continuity of supply during the transition period.

Because these were not long-term relocations, the company implemented a short-term mobility policy focused on compliance, visa accuracy and duty of care. Each trip was treated as a standalone business visit with local immigration counsel reviewing the nature of work to avoid accidental breaches of Chinese work permit regulations.

This model allowed the company to maintain a stable presence in China during a sensitive transition, without incurring long-term costs or triggering unnecessary immigration complexity. Over time, the short-term model also helped reduce operational risk by preserving key relationships and maintaining cultural continuity with Chinese partners.

Conclusion

The impact of the 2025 US–China tariffs has gone far beyond economics. It will catalyse how global companies approach talent mobility. For HR and mobility professionals, this shift represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

The challenge lies in managing regulatory risk, supporting employee wellbeing and delivering mobility outcomes at speed. The opportunity is in redefining mobility’s role as a core strategic function — one that supports resilience, enables global agility and helps businesses respond faster to disruption.

Mobility is now central to how organisations adapt and grow. Its future will depend not only on the ability to move people but on the ability to do so with foresight, structure and care. The organisations that succeed will be those that treat mobility not as a transaction but as a vital part of workforce and operational strategy.

As the global environment continues to shift, one thing is clear: mobility has never mattered more.