Layoffs are cooling down in Dubai

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Since the beginning of March  Dubai Chronicle counted fewer layoffs announced at the U.A.E. based companies, a far cry from the 500 to 3000 in previous months. Perhaps it’s time for some cautious optimism.

Companies are still unloading hundreds of employees. Many of the layoffs already announced won’t be completed until months from now, as in the case of back office consolidation of Dubai Holding’s property and investment companies. In other cases companies are hiring in some areas, as Abraaj ACapital, while they trim jobs in others. But it’s not easy to feel optimistic if your company is one that has announced impending cuts. Shuaa Capital  eliminated 21 jobs in December 2008 and another dozen last week, employees can’t help but worry when will come their turn.

The numbers show many companies got layoffs out of the way when the time was right. Most do annual bookkeeping at year’s end, and this year, that forced them to realize they had to take immediate action. A lot of bad-news quarterly results were accompanied by layoff announcements.

The actual job market will likely be gloomy for some time, but the decline in the layoff announcements right now can only be good news. It suggests that, at the very least, job losses may significantly decrease over the coming months. They may pick up again in the summer, but we can’t really see that far ahead.

1 COMMENT

  1. Thanks for the encouraging post, it made me smile. In regards to the video, check this ou:

    Nationals Warned Against Poor Performance

    The UAE guideline not to retrench nationals from the private sector is not an excuse for inaction, stressed think-tanks at the Wharton Global Alumni Forum on Thursday.

    Addressing a crowd of media, education and other top personalities, Najla Al Awadhi, Member of the UAE Federal National Council (FNC) and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Media Incorporated said poor performers can come under the scanner.

    “There are strict conditions to the law, and it is in no way telling the UAE nationals to be lazy at the workplace. If they have a record (for poor performance) they can be released from the job,” Awadhi said.

    “The critics (of the Media Law) are not being fair to the Government of the UAE, which is trying to develop and balance the media. We are not against the freedom of the Press but we are for responsible freedom that will not disrupt the social order,” she said.

    http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=theuae&xfile=data/theuae/2009/March/theuae_March329.xml

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