Dubai property giant sacks 500 as finance crisis bites

The Dubai property giant behind such grandiose projects as a one-kilometre-tall tower and artificial palm-shaped islands said on Sunday it has fired 500 staff as the global economic crisis begins to bite in the booming desert city-state.
Government-controlled developer Nakheel, one of the biggest employers in Dubai, also said it would be scaling back work on some projects. "Approximately 15 percent of the total workforce, which amounts to 500 employees, was made redundant," it said in a statement. The move is "a responsible action in light of the current global market conditions."
It is the largest job cut in the wake of the global financial meltdown to be announced in United Arab Emirates and in Dubai, a city of skyscrapers, opulent hotels and malls which hosts hundreds of thousands of Westerners and Asian workers.
"We have the responsibility to adjust our short-term business plans to accommodate the current global environment," said an unnamed spokesperson quoted in the statement. "The redundancies are indeed regrettable, but a necessity dictated by operational requirements which are in turn dependent on demand."
Earlier this month, Damac Group, owner of the region's largest private developer Damac Properties, said it cut 200 jobs or 2.5 percent of its workforce.
Nakheel is developing several iconic projects in Dubai, including three palm-shaped man-made islands, only one of which is completed, and a cluster of islands shaped like a map of the world.
It also announced last month a jaw-dropping plan to build a one-kilometre-high (3,280 feet) tower which would overshadow the still unfinished Burj Dubai, already the world's tallest. Nakheel also develops residential and commercial property, sales of which thrived after the sector was opened to foreign investors several years ago. Last week, Nakheel jointly hosted a star-studded 20-million-dollar bash to celebrate the opening of the Atlantis Hotel on its Jumeirah Palm island.
Top Dubai officials insist the emirate's real estate sector - a key engine of economic growth in recent years - will weather the global crisis, but investors appear to have lost confidence in the market which was until recently a great magnet for investments.
Despite occasional surges, the Dubai Financial Market is now about 67 percent lower than at the start of the year, while the market leader, property giant Emaar, has seen its shares drop to record lows.