DUBAI: Dubai's real estate giant, Nakheel, on Sunday announced to scale down its operations and cut 15 per cent of its staff in the wake of the current global financial meltdown.
"Approximately 15 per cent of the total workforce, which amounts to 500 employees, was made redundant," a Nakheel spokesperson informed the media, describing the decision as "a responsible action in light of the current global market conditions."
The spokesperson said, "Nakheel is scaling back work on some of its projects and has adjusted its staff requirements accordingly to accommodate the current market conditions."
The company's projects are estimated to be worth USD 80 billion. However, the company did not provide details of the number or volume of projects to be scaled.
Nakheel's projects include three palm-shaped islands, only one of which is completed, and a cluster of islands in the shape of a map of the world. It also announced last month a massive plan to build a one-kilometre-high tower which would overshadow the still unfinished Burj Dubai, already the tallest on earth.
"We have the responsibility to adjust our short term business plans to accommodate the current global environment. The redundancies are indeed regrettable but a necessity dictated by operational requirements which are in turn dependent on demand," he added.
All affected employees were provided a redundancy Package, which includes outplacement support services to assist in this time of transition.
Another Dubai master developer, Emaar Properties, is also speculating job cuts while several other developers have already cut jobs to stay in business.
