WS Atkins Plans 210 Job Cuts in Dubai

Residential property values in Dubai dropped 8 percent in the fourth quarter from the prior three months, with the number of transactions falling 45 percent, property adviser Colliers CRE Plc said Jan. 13

WS Atkins Plc, the U.K.’s biggest engineering-design company, plans to cut 210 jobs at its Middle East operations as the region’s construction industry slows and clients defer or cancel projects.

Atkins is talks with 170 staff at its Dubai office and 40 at its Manila branch in the Philippines, which serves the Middle East, spokesman Ben Thompson said today. The affected workers are mainly in its building design business, he said.

Construction companies across the United Arab Emirates are struggling to finance developments and sell real estate after credit dried up and a five-year surge in property prices ended. Atkins, which employs about 2,000 staff in Dubai, was hit by deferred work on projects such as Nakheel PJSC’s Trump Tower and Tameer Holding’s turbine-shaped Anara Tower, Thompson said.

Bloomberg