There are not that many exploitable smart people left, even internationally. In my applied research niche they already hired internationally and the ability was rare, being high functioning autistic was basically a prerequisite. Supply dried up because these people have better options now; start ups, finance, crypto, independent scientists, more promising companies in their home countries.
It’s much easier for me to change companies than for companies to change. I’ve been remote for 7 years and will retire long before going back to an office.
Simple DDG search [1] says that somewhere around 45-80% of companies are pro-remote. Which definitely puts the number of such companies into TENS of millions.
[1]: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=percentage+of+companies+allowing+r...
Workers who want to work remote can find employers who are ok with remote work. It isn't like there is a shortage of companies that allow remote work.