Emaar Property, Dubai's largest listed company, reported a reduction in pay for its employees as the company's president himself took a 100 percent cut in salary because of the coronavirus.
The company reported pay cuts of 50 percent for senior management, 40 percent for middle management and 30 percent for junior ranking employees.
Emaar operates throughout the country and has offices in Gurugram and residential properties in the capital New Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Chennai and others. Previously, the company had a joint venture with MGF, also based in Delhi.
While the coronavirus pandemic delays ventures and weighs on sales from malls and hotels, Emaar Properties PJSC, made the decision to slash executive and staff wages across its companies.
The changes took effect for all of Emaar's Dubai businesses starting April 1 and will continue until further notice, according to a letter sent to employees by Chairman Mohamed Alabbar and seen by Bloomberg.
There will be no salary reductions during the duration for the support workers doing full time duties. All that are on leave or not working at the moment will earn 15 percent of their income, in addition to housing and health benefits, the developer said.
According to Alabbar, he wants to make sure that his people remain at the top of the company's priorities. Taking into account all the circumstances, Alabbar said he remains "hopeful and assured that this is only a temporary process. Until then we are thankful for the blessings we have today - our health, well-being and our families," he said.
Given the current situation, delays in operations outside the developer's jurisdiction have had an impact on the construction of its latest flagship, the luxury 77-storey tower Il Primo, an Emaar spokesman disclosed regarding the suspension of work.
He said the construction of the tower next to the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, designed by Emaar, will be a "temporary pause." He did not state when work would resume.
The Il Primo tower is built to have a posh four, five, and six-bedroom apartments, with prices starting at $5.3 million, Emaar's website reveals.
Alabbar said he has been practicing social distance and that he frequently found himself focusing on "the drastic changes that are taking place in our lives without us having any idea when it will end."
He added that he remained hopeful, saying that given the spread of the virus that has distorted people's lives, "I still believe that this too will pass."
