More redundancies expected soon

Conference speakers said more redundancies

The construction industry in the region can expect another round of redundancies, it was revealed yesterday at the Construction Week Dubai Conference 2009.

In response to a question over possibilities of further jobs being axed in the industry within the next few months, Rhyan Anderson, HR director for Halcrow said, “It would be very silly to say that there will not be any more job losses in the industry within the next few months, as no one can have people sitting around doing nothing.

“I don’t think there will be mass redundancies like we’ve seen this year but there will obviously be some companies letting go of excess people,” she added.

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Seconding Anderson, Dutco Balfour Beatty, general manager, Grahame McCaig said redundancies were dependent on the state of the market.

“If there is not enough work for people to do, it is obvious that they will be let go. Companies cannot afford to employ people and pay them if there’s no work.”

Anderson said she understood the need for transparency and that people would be better able to cope with a difficult situation if informed in time.

“It is always better to be prepared and that is why I think transparency is needed, especially when it comes to issues as sensitive as people’s jobs and livelihood.”