Damac Properties lays off 200 workers

Dwindling property sales have forced Damac Properties to slash 200 jobs at its Dubai office. The job cuts have been made across divisions including sales, marketing, recruitment and administration. According to one sales agent who was made redundant last Thursday, the company gave staff three months severance pay and issued them with a No Objection Certificate (NOC), which legally allows them to search for other work in Dubai.

The company's chief executive, Peter Riddoch, said the decision was "inevitable" in light of a severe slowdown in the global property market. "We regret that we have to lose colleagues but we believe that taking an early decision was the right thing to do," he said in a statement. "The company must remain competitive in order to deliver on its commitments to customers and to safeguard the long-term future of the business and the employees worldwide."

Damac has a workforce of 8,000 around the world. According to the company's senior vice president of communications, Niall McLoughlin, the number of jobs lost represent just 2.5 per cent of Damac's total workforce. "This shouldn't be taken out of context," he said. Despite the cutbacks, Damac, which expects to deliver 7,100 units to home buyers in 2009 and 2010, remains hopeful that the Dubai property market will fend off the challenges of a global economic meltdown.

"I have little doubt that the UAE is still better placed than many other nations to deal with the challenges ahead in the global market," added Mr Riddoch. "However, as an international developer, we cannot expect to be unaffected by the downturn in countries like the UK." @Email:[e-mail]