Amid tariff uncertainty, could global hiring be the smartest option?

With steep worldwide tariffs now in play under President Trump’s administration, the push for domestic job creation is hitting unexpected roadblocks. According to a new Duke University and Federal Reserve survey, one in four chief financial officers have scaled back 2025 hiring plans due to uncertainty, with tariffs now the leading concern for US business leaders.

Rather than bringing manufacturing or production operations jobs back to the US, known as reshoring, some organisations are expanding globally to counter rising costs, shifting policies and the ongoing struggle to find specialised talent at home.

According to Amritpal Singh, Co-Founder and President of Field Operations at Multiplier, a global employment platform, some employers today are rethinking workforce strategies to not just survive economic pressures but to thrive despite them.

“After all, when geography is no longer a constraint, the global talent pool becomes far more accessible—and the skills shortage much less limiting,” Singh says.

The borderless opportunities for white-collar work

Multiplier research highlights what was already a growing trend before the recent tariff announcements, Singh says. For example, it found a 31% year-over-year surge in cross-border hiring, particularly in highly skilled areas like engineering, product development and finance. While India remains a key hub for US employers, he notes, markets such as Eastern Europe and the Philippines are emerging as options for hiring from cost-effective, skilled talent pools.

“Recent tariff developments and shifting policy signals are creating uncertainty for US businesses,” Singh says. While the tariffs may not directly affect the services industry as much as they do manufacturing, the “knock-on” effects—higher prices, stalled decision-making and a general hesitancy to hire—cross industries.

“With tariff decisions still in flux, many organisations are taking a more cautious approach to domestic planning,” he says.

Hiring for white-collar work, he adds, can now be largely borderless, thanks to the prevalence of remote work.

“No one’s asking where your software engineer or product marketer is sitting,” he says. “Geography just isn’t the constraint it once was.”

In fact, Singh says, the surge in global hiring is happening particularly in highly skilled roles like machine learning, data science, blockchain development and cybersecurity. Even “more exciting,” he says, is the momentum from such emerging markets as Nigeria and Senegal, “places with growing talent pipelines, better connectivity and a strong drive to work and upskill.”

Global hiring: A long-term solution?

According to Singh, setting up in a new country can be complex, but models like Employer of Record (EOR) helps organisations take a phased approach. He adds that the cost benefits are significant, too—a US-based software engineer might cost US$250,000, while international wages tend to grow at a more sustained pace.

“Global hiring helps organisations counteract wage inflation and optimise spend—not just shift it,” he explains.

During downturns, Singh says, large enterprises often default to blanket hiring freezes because they do not know where to cut. But smaller teams do not usually have that luxury.

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“That’s where global hiring becomes powerful, allowing organisations to keep moving by optimising rather than halting,” he says.

Singh believes that rather than freezing hiring, organisations can focus on “dynamic wage optimization” by regularly reassessing where and how they hire to make the most of their budget. He says that what is cost-effective today might not be tomorrow, so reviewing hiring strategies every six to 12 months is critical.

“Ultimately, global hiring isn’t just a workaround for tariffs; it’s a strategic advantage,” Singh says. “The US remains an expensive and competitive talent market, and accessing a global talent pool gives organisations the flexibility to grow and adapt, no matter what economic or political uncertainty lies ahead.”

About the Author: Tom Starner is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia who has been covering the HR space and all of its components processes for two decades. This article was first published on HR Executive.