Dubai firm cuts jobs

Bloomberg

“This continuing global slowdown will inevitably lead all companies to review their staffing levels and recruitment requirements,” said Chief Executive Officer Peter Riddoch in an e-mailed statement yesterday. “As a competitive business, the Damac Group has to ensure that it maintains its staffing levels according to market conditions - both good and bad.”

Dubai is bracing for a slowdown in the property market as economic growth slumps, reducing demand for property from overseas buyers. The Dubai government has set up a committee to boost confidence in its real-estate market, while Lloyds TSB said it stopped offering mortgage loans to buy apartments.

Damac, which employs more than 8,000 people worldwide, said the main redundancies will be in sales, marketing, recruitment and back-office support. The company plans to deliver 2,300 units in 2008 and a further 7,100 in 2009-2010, it said.

Meanwhile, the Dubai government will control supply of real estate by overseeing future projects through a committee, Emirates Business 24/7 reported, citing Nasser Al-Shaikh, director general of the Dubai Department of Finance. Government-owned master developers control 70 percent of the supply in Dubai's property market and “if all these parties work together we strike a balance between the future demand and supply,” the newspaper cited Al-Shaikh as saying.