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By Martinne Geller and Ben Hirschler
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Business leaders inDavos, traditionally the high priests of globalisation, aretalking up the benefits of local production this week to shieldthemselves from criticism from incoming U.S. President DonaldTrump.
Elected on a jobs-focused "America First" platform, Trumphas taken to Twitter to rebuke major companies like GeneralMotors, Lockheed Martin and United Technologies, either for making goods in Mexico or for the price oftheir products.
At this week's World Economic Forum (WEF), a gathering ofbusiness and political elites in the Swiss Alps synonymous withfree markets, company bosses said they were now preparing toadjust to the Trump era.
"The basic message is to be more national, don't just beglobal," Richard Edelman, CEO of communications marketing firmEdelman, told Reuters. "Let's try and pre-empt that tweet byhaving a long-term discussion about the supply chain."
General Motors on Tuesday highlighted moves it said wouldadd nearly 2,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs, including a decisionto shift some production of axles to an American factory, ratherthan have them supplied from Mexico. The automaker said itwanted to "build where we sell".
"There is no doubt we need to adapt," Carlos Ghosn, chiefexecutive of Renault-Nissan , told Reuters."All carmakers have to revise their strategy as a function ofwhat is coming."
At the same time, companies are reviewing potential mergersand rethinking job cuts, fearing the stigma of being labelled"anti-American".
What companies have yet to spell out is the economic cost ofsuch shifts or the extent of localisation that will be needed tokeep the peace with the new White House administration.
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Adding to the incentive to increase U.S. manufacturing isthe promise of lower corporate taxes under the Trumpadministration.
"It could mean increased investment in the U.S.," Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez told Reuters.
Vishal Sikka, chief executive of Infosys, whichprovides IT services to large companies including banks, saidhis company expected more business from helping companieslocalise.
"The irony is that when more walls show up it is a goodopportunity for services companies to help do business acrossthose walls," he said.
The move to go local in response to Trump looks set to fuela trend already evident in some industries, including food andfashion, which are trying to tap into consumer demand forhomegrown materials and production.
Other businesses are also thinking locally to mitigatecurrency risks in certain markets. Food companies in Britain,for example, which have seen their costs soar after sterlingplummeted in the wake of the Brexit vote, have started movingtowards local suppliers where possible to keep costs down.
In some cases, technological advances are helping by makingit easier for companies to shorten their supply lines.
"With 3D printing, for example, some of the supply chainwill reshore and come back to the local economies," said Fransvan Houten, CEO of Dutch healthcare technology group Philips. "I think we will see supply chains becoming moreregional."
Such tech-fuelled localisation may be a competitiveadvantage for multinational companies in a world of increasinggeopolitical uncertainty, but it brings fresh challenges fordeveloping economies which could lose out as jobs return toricher countries like the United States.
Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, the world'slargest advertising agency, said U.S. growth could come at thecost of nations elsewhere.
"The issue on Trump is what you win on the U.S. swings, youmay lose on the international roundabouts," he said. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Writing by CarmelCrimmins; Editing by Pravin Char)
