Business | Property
Job cuts on Emaar radar as stocks crash
Emaar Properties, one of the world's largest property developers, is preparing to cut jobs to help it steer through the biggest crisis in its 11-year history amid a sharp fall on Dubai's stock markets and a cooling of its property sector.
- Financial Times
- Published: 23:21 November 14, 2008
Dubai/London: Emaar Properties, one of the world's largest property developers, is preparing to cut jobs to help it steer through the biggest crisis in its 11-year history amid a sharp fall on Dubai's stock markets and a cooling of its property sector.
The company, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the Dubai stock market, on Thursday said it was reviewing its 5,000-strong workforce in light of the weakening Dubai property market, which is declining for the first time since foreigners were allowed to buy property in 2002.
Emaar emerged on the property scene from nowhere a decade ago, establishing itself in more than 36 countries through an aggressive acquisitions policy that helped its land bank grow to 519 million square metres, with a value of Dh28.3 billion in 2007.
The company became the face of Dubai's booming property market, which has been constantly raising the bar for building the biggest, best and fastest.
However, the six-year bull run in Dubai property prices has run out of steam as the financial crisis washes up in the Gulf. HSBC said last week residential prices had fallen in October for the first time since 2002.
"To address the new challenges that we face, it is important to reorient our growth strategies and align our business model to tackle new realities," Emaar said.
It has sought to diversify outside the core Dubai development market into a wide range of businesses around the world, from estate agency chain Hamptons International in the UK, John Laing Homes of the US and the Armani hotels business, as well as assets in healthcare and education.
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