Site workforce plan
Map ramp-up phases, shifts, production roles, contractors, seasonal needs and accountable site and group owners.
Going global from China · factory workforce
Overseas factory employment and expatriate planning for Chinese companies.
Prepare separate workstreams for local hires, Chinese expatriates, payroll, immigration, working conditions, worker representation and employment records before an overseas site starts or expands.
04 planning workstreams03 operating approaches01 destination-specific handoff
01 Planning map
Clarify ownership before choosing providers
One expansion plan, four connected workstreams.
Use these workstreams to build a clean first brief and identify who needs to be involved. They do not replace destination-country legal, tax, payroll, immigration, privacy or corporate advice.
Local employment
Check recruitment, contracts, pay, hours, overtime, leave, benefits, discipline, dismissal and worker-representation requirements.
Chinese expatriates
Separate assignments, local hires, business visitors and labor-service arrangements; verify work authorization and payroll or tax treatment.
Workplace systems
Plan health and safety, accommodation, grievance, investigation, training, time, payroll and personnel-record controls.
02 Operating approaches
Compare questions, not scores
Use these approaches to expose the questions that need local verification.
No approach is ranked or recommended here. The right structure depends on the destination, business activities, control, entity position, worker facts, immigration status, timing and current rules.
Local factory hires
When it may enter the discussion The operating entity recruits employees in the destination market.
Questions to verify Verify local terms, working time, benefits, representation, safety, payroll, privacy and termination requirements.
Use this as a question list for appropriately qualified destination-country advisers and providers.
Group expatriate assignments
When it may enter the discussion Existing China-group personnel are assigned or transferred to the overseas site.
Questions to verify Verify immigration, assignment documentation, host obligations, tax, social security, pay split and repatriation.
Use this as a question list for appropriately qualified destination-country advisers and providers.
Contractor or service workforce
When it may enter the discussion Specialist, construction, labor-supply or outsourced teams support the site.
Questions to verify Verify licensing, worker status, supervision, supply-chain responsibility, site safety, immigration and joint-liability risks.
Use this as a question list for appropriately qualified destination-country advisers and providers.
03 Facts to prepare
Build a concise expansion brief
Prepare the facts that can change the route—without sharing unnecessary personnel documents.
This checklist stores and submits nothing. Select only the information your internal owner has prepared, then use it to structure an approved secure handoff.
CN–FW / preparation checklist Site workforce brief Preparation only. Confirm current source and professional requirements before taking action.
✓
Next: identify the destination authorities, local advisers and providers that need the bounded brief.
04 Official sources
Keep China and destination-country requirements separate
Verify the China-side source route, then transfer the destination question to the people responsible for the local answer.
Source links reviewed 21 August 2026. Re-check them as part of the editorial maintenance cycle.
01
ILO · fundamental principles and rights at work
Official ILO starting point for fundamental principles and rights at work. Destination-country law and ratification or implementation still require local verification.
↗02ILO · multinational-enterprise declaration
Official ILO guidance for multinational enterprises covering employment, training, working conditions and industrial relations.
↗03MOFCOM · foreign labor-service cooperation
Official China-side text for foreign labor-service cooperation. Confirm whether it applies to the actual arrangement and current implementation.
↗05 Related routes
Continue with the right workstream
Move from workforce planning to the appropriate legal or mobility resource.
06 Common questions
Planning boundaries
Questions to resolve before the plan moves into implementation.
Can one policy cover local hires and expatriates?
Usually the workstreams need to be separated because contracts, immigration, payroll, tax, benefits and assignment terms may differ.
Are contractors outside employment compliance?
Not automatically. Actual supply, direction, integration, safety and immigration facts may create obligations or worker-status issues.
What should be ready before ramp-up?
Prepare headcount, roles, shifts, employing parties, immigration, payroll, safety, representation, accommodation and record ownership.