Re: All C*** by april hobbs - 22-Jul-09
Oh come on love, just because you have not suffered misstreatment in any form by this company does not mean that it does not bloody exist.

Every business needs to restructure in difficult times. But you are missing the point.

Open your eyes, people are being ridden roughshod by unfair practices left right and centre, with their security and status in limbo.

I have my own axe to grind, and six months on they fail to accept amicable dialogue and I am no further forward. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Re: DAMAC is Out of Here by april hobbs - 22-Jul-09
Kindly advize me on how you are dealing with your dispute.And who is assisting you. I am suffering similar circumstances and 6 months I dont know who to turn to. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

DAMAC - The Real(i)ty by Subureena Hamaria - 15-Jan-09
DAMAC and Mr John are using all of the many tricks in their very big unsavoury book to deny ex-employees the money they're patently entitled to. The b#llocks story about the 'concession' from the Ministry of Labour is just that - more lies from Damac. The reality is that it isn't paying people because it hasn't got any money.

The phoney gravy train its been operating for years has come to a crashing halt and all that easy money dried up. The question is - where is all the millions that investors have given them gone??!! Looks like Damac are busy cancelling projects rather than building them.

http://www.kippreport.com/kipp/2009/01/06/4974/

The reality is that Damac has used fear and bullying for years to get it's sordid way with its employees but this time it's been caught with its pants down and shown for all it really is. It says it's the 'Biggest Developer in the Middle East' when really it's just 'The Worst Employer', The sooner this c#sspit is closed the better for Dubai and everyone else. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: DAMAC Not paying compensation by true tom - 06-Jan-09
absolutely true..now that people have gone to the ministry of labour there is talk internally to circumvent the system even further and give even more misery to the already griefstricken employees.Modus operandi is simple..corece employees to sign an unlimited contract..fire them immediately..then pay them only one month pay which is even lower than 3 months basic..so u butcher em before you shoot em..and pls do not forget paycuts are in the offing and that would mean that end of service benefits also stand to decrease along with the cut in the last drawn salary..hows that for planning,?pity they didnt plan to run a company decently. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

DAMAC Not paying compensation by Exploited DAMACian, Recruitment Dept, DAMAC - 29-Dec-08
Offlate DAMAC started making false statements to the employees who were fired saying that MOL has given them concession of not paying three months gross & hence they will pay only three months basic pay. According to MOL, there's no such compensation given to DAMAC. After screwing so many careers, the least we expected was the compensation for it but seems like we are not going to get that also. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Its the Second Great Depression...Deal with it by Tyron Bigums, Confidential, Confidential - 27-Dec-08
I find it funny that people call it a 'Recession' or even go as far as calling it a 'mild recession'...haven't you been reading the news? the IMF calls it the 2nd Great Depression, heads of banks around the world are calling it a Great Depression. Yet here in Dubai people are still dillussional and calling it a recession and a storm.

Regarding DAMAC I'm an ex employee, but I was lucky enough to quit in May when everybody was still thinking things will be okay, I don't bare grudges against DAMAC but what people fail to realize is that DAMAC Holdings has most of its capital invested in insurance and the financial sector, the Real Estate was only second after those. Now with companies as big as Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and others going bust, I'm sure DAMAC securities isn't doing so hot. Real Estate has gone in to a grinding halt, same with construction.

I think the Real Estate companies need a Madoff, someone to say he defrauded the investors with a ponzy scheme (I'm still oblivious how big banks like HSBC didn't notice it) and now bailouts are coming to those investors plus insurance i.e. more than their initial capital being paid by the government GREAT SCHEME! [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Damac messed up my career by Nihar Mulki, HR Analyst - 10-Dec-08
Hi all,I understand all the frustation because im a victim of Damac's unprofession attitude..I was working for a well known MNC in bangalore when DAMAC offered me a role in their recuitment dept...They told me to put down my papers with the company in bangalore with great confidence...and after i quit the job and sold my car,furniture etc (because i had to relocate to dubai,as per DAMAC i was going to get my work permit on Oct 19th) DAMAC recruitment Asst Vice president calls me up on 14th oct stating that my offer has been withdrawn..I was shocked to death because i had quit my job for DAMAC.They didnt even have the basic courtesy to offer me a minimum compensation for the mental trauma and making me jobless..I have the offer letter as well as thw saved Text msgs from the HR head...is there any way i can sue them???? Pls advice [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: DAMAC is Out of Here by Rahima Yunus - 06-Dec-08
Totally agree, shame on those employees who faced the axe, im currently going through a dispute with them, the staff dont know their arm to their leg, they are impoliet, un professional and customer service is out of the window.

For 3 months i am being pushed from pillar to post from one person to another and still no results.

Bunch of greedy fraudsters after your money but when its giving back time they dont want to know [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Dubai by Leonard G, Director - 19-Nov-08
I agree with most of the people here about DAMAC, John, Suji and damac 'way of life' in general.

The only loser in the overall scheme of things is Dubai.

Hope the govt. realizes since damac has obviously gone too far in most of the cases. The story of the couple is only one of hundreds that have been lied to by the recruitment department of damac which is bad for dubai as a whole.
They may justify (only to themselves) that they had recruitment targets, but can they be allowed to lie to hundreds of innocent victims?

When job cuts happen, it is not just the co. but the industry that gets involved.
The industry therefore needs to question why in a co. that is laying off half its staff (despite claims of 2.5%), the departments that should go the first are still there - the training department, the recruitment department (including suji siva)
Doesnt it speak of the amount of politics and malpractices within the co.? [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Constructive Discusion by Zawya Moderator - 19-Nov-08
Please note that this is a platform for constructive discussion on business issues.

We appreciate your heated arguments, but criticism of a personal natural will unfortunately be removed.

I think we will all benefit from this forum if we stick to issues impacting on the business community.

Thank you for your understanding. For any clarification please look up the Zawya Comment Policy. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Re: All C*** by Paul Rogers, CEO - 19-Nov-08
I have been following this post regularly and have kep quiet, but being an outsider I can only mention that I did hear that DAMAC has gone bankrupt.
I only worry for the investors who have already given large amounts of money to buy DAMAC property.

I also agree with Raj since I too wondered every time I interacted with any Damac staff, and once or twice the ceo also, that how is it that they are surviving.
I have NEVER seen more politics in any other co., NEVER in my life seen customers being treated so shoddily and few of the crm people I was speaking to also confided in me of the way the employees are treated.
Its no wonder that they are close to shutting down. They should just take this as a face saving excuse and exit from the market gracefully.

Ms. Damac employee, its nice to see you defend damac so vehemently, though you have written very strongly I can tell you that the very fact that you seem to be the only one writing for damac today and even mentioning that you got a promotion (am assuming you are a woman therefore) confirms the very facts you are trying to deny;-).
Nevertheless, I dont blame you, its good that you have survived - I give you credit for it, no matter how you managed to do that. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: All C*** by Paul Smith, Technical Director, BTB - 18-Nov-08
Damac may survive, but not with out more casulties. I heard (and not sure of the true facts) that 85% of property is being bought by UK and US residence? Then surely it does not take to much to figure that if we dont buy they cant sell, which is exactly what has happened to developers in the UK and US. Come Christmas more redundancies will be made in the UK and again will have a huge impact on global property sales.

People will always have "sour grapes" but things will pick up, just not as quick as you may predict.

And finally.... no one in Dubai gets paid what they are worth, and definately dont earn what they get paid......... [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

All C*** by Damac Employee - 18-Nov-08
Well most of the comments posted here are of employees who didnt do much to contribute in Damac's success. You will find all "ex" employees terminated/resigned writing articles on Damac, just coz they are no more associated with Damac. Its a big wonder how did they manage/survived if Damac had sucha bad reputation in the market, in the first place, were these guys literally on streets that made them join Damac? I am working here for past so many years and have never faced any issues regarding promotion/increments and for your info, i didnt have to sleep with anyone in Damac to get what I deserved.
All these ex employees only drew big amounts and sat there doing nothing. I have seen some names whom I am familiar with and as soon as I heard of them, they were gone . Its like the story of sour grapes :-)......guys have some sense and stop writing against a company which is just going thru a rough phase and its just not them, there are many more in the market.

And last but not the least, Damac will survive this storm, and yes for all those anti Damac ex employees, inspite of whatever you say , we are respectfully still being paid the salaries we deserve! [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Damac is no exception by Andre Potassi, Researcher, ZZ - 16-Nov-08
Sama Dubai are just as bad... about USD 30 billion of projects, but in 2 years they haven't built one basement for one tower! [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Please read this article. by James Varghese - 15-Nov-08
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20081115065321/Claim%20to%20refund%3A%2070%20pc%20of%20%27monies%20paid%27%20or%20%27contract%20value%27%3F/

Claim to refund: 70 pc of 'monies paid' or 'contract value'?

How can they interpret the law favouring only the Developer?
Is RERA is not interested in Investors? [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Well, it is recession. by Paul Jenny - 15-Nov-08
The Developers already have billions of dollars of investors money for these projects and billions more on the way. Clearly what is needed is legislation to both restore customer confidence and also to protect the economy from developers misusing that money and going bust. Not for the government (and countty) to go down with them. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Well, it is recession. by James Varghese - 15-Nov-08
Well, it is recession in Dubai, not correction. Correction can take place only after teh supplu meets demands. Not only in the Real Estate field, all sectors in Dubai, is down. Well, in real estate no transactions. There is no liquidity with common man in Dubai. So I think there will be more job cuts in this market, so beware.
I request the authorities to come out with a Fund which can support the Developers as well as Investors, so that Dubai can effectively control the recession. We do not want to hear that the developers are halting the projects due to the shortage of funds. If there is a fund availabel from the government, the developers can get money from it and the interest can be collected from the Investors who defaulted.

This is the time for action, not to blame every one. Please give more suggestions to overcoem from this recession. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

by Bakhtiyar Hussain - 14-Nov-08
I think it is just the matter of time and we will hear the same in other real estate companies and banks as well, for example Omniyat, Emaar, Shaun etc. Banks will definitely follow and we all know over staffing in the banks in UAE. This is going to be tough for sure. The people who have been laid off are just unlucky ones', wrong time and wrong place, nobody can comment on their performance; and should not try to do so !

I hope the situation will correct soon but I see no sign of improvement. Dubai was to see the correction but the global credit crunch just added to the flavor ! [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

by Bakhtiyar Hussain - 14-Nov-08
I think it is just the matter of time and we will hear the same in other real estate companies and banks as well, for example Omniyat, Emaar, Shaun etc. Banks will definitely follow and we all know over staffing in the banks in UAE. This is going to be tough for sure. The people who have been laid off are just unlucky ones', wrong time and wrong place, nobody can comment on their performance; and should not try to do so !

I hope the situation will correct soon but I see no sign of improvement. Dubai was to see the correction but the global credit crunch just added to the flavor ! [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

DAMAC & Hussain Sajwani by Mpower .. - 14-Nov-08
If Damac by any chance does go bankrupt, they will not be putting them self in this position for the first time, they were close to bankruptcy during the dot-com bubble, when they lost millions of dollars in the NASDAQ crash.

If there is something they have learn t from their previous unfortunate experience is how to handle a disastrous situation.

If there is question marks on Emaar's future, Damac is a private developer with heavy exposure and no Govt backing, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize where the situation is heading. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Damac to be Blamed! by Paul Jenny - 14-Nov-08
Wow! That means Damac have at least 40% of thousands of customers stage payments on 95 projects sitting idle in bank accounts. Thats billions of dollars! What protection do these customers have. Whats going to happen if (and when by the look of it) Damac fold? [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

DAMAC is Out of Here by Raj Cham, CEO, Property Company - 14-Nov-08
I am not connected with DAMAC for what is worth, but had the misfortune of transfering property there for my clients on several ocassions.

I have not been exposed to so many people shouting and yelling at the staff as i have seen in this office. The staff also handled them in a very 'do what u want' attitude.

The staff is VERY slow, do not respond to emails and is ridiculously over-burdened from the looks of it. I was grateful to the Accounts staff for working real fast, but the rest of the team is ... cant find the right word...

Damac should either straighted up or get lost. I dont know any customer who is Happy with DAMAC!

I remember each time i left from their office, i thought "How can these guys survive?" [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Damac to be Blamed! by Aiki Dubai - 14-Nov-08
A lot of people who are reading the negative comments about Damac would assume that they are coming from disgruntled employees and they hold no facts in them. Well, most of them do!
Mr. Varghese, I do appreciate your faith in Dubai and I hope that the matter does recover because the fact remains that at this stage in dubai, demand still outstrips supply and that would get the market moving again. However, I do wish you be a bit more open to the possibility of damac being wrong:

To be fair to Damac, I do agree that the quality of their projects is better than many of other developers. But regardless, the following facts should be known:

* Damac did not only fire 200, as they claim. They fired approximately 500 people and my sources are from within Damac (and now the ones who were not fired are looking to exit; i know a few who actually resigned after all of this!)

* Damac's sales has gone down because:
1- Their product is 30% more expensive than that of their closest competitors and quality alone does not cover that gap
2- They have launched almost 95 projects so far and only 5 have been delivered and almost 10-15 under construction.
3- This company was absolutely sales and marketing focused with no interest in what their clients think of them. Yes, they do have a crm department but what good would it do if the mentality of the ceo and chairman is not customer oriented.

* Anyone who works at Damac would know that politics is the mother language in this company and therefore, it was NOT only the non performers that got axed. Ofcourse, there were non performers among those, but the fact remains that many were people who had worked hard to get this company to where it had reached, and others had just sold, exactly a couple of weeks before they got fired.

* Things have been going bad for Damac for a while now, especially after their Palm Springs incident. Since anouncing that they wanted to axe their Palm Springs project after 3 years of delay, they have lost the trust of most of the market, and that was the turning point for them.

* One of the main problems in Damac was their recruiters; these people had their monthy targets of how many people they should recruit, and a lot of them had to lie, deceive and cheat people to get them hired. One name you could not avoid would be suji siva. A lot of current/previous damac employees curse this name claiming that she had told them absolute lies
to get them recruited. And ofcourse, once this new recruit joins, reality hit him hard and if he/she does not sell anything in 2-3, they fire him without giving him a no-objection-certificate (noc), which means that he would be banned from working in dubai for six months!
I know, I was one of those people......... [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Re: Re: Why blame DAMAC by Olga K, Sales Manager - 14-Nov-08
I watched the video and it's a sham how damac is screwing people’s life. I don’t care about damac even if the whole company shuts down. The problem is that this company is spoiling Dubai reputation in the whole world. I don’t know why the government is not taken any actions against this company? what they are waiting for? In this video when ABC reported the story they warned Americans against UAE and Dubai not Hussain Sajwani who is nobody for them. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Re: Re: Why blame DAMAC by Ziyad Kayyali, Telecom Consultant and Designer - 13-Nov-08
Dear Sue,

I viewed the little video and I sympethize with the couple from New York.

Please do all of us a favor and list a more unbiased source; since this source was calling Dubai a "oil-rich Middle Eastern Country of Dubai, located on the Persian Gulf". ABC went thru the trouble of consulting with an int'l law lawyer, but failed at six-grade level geography. ABC's report shows one side of the story, but we all know, that UAE; just like any other countries, have some bad apples.
I worked for large corporations in another country. While working for one corporation; I survived seven lay-offs (politically coorect name: workforce reduction) in a period of two years. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Dubai is Growing by A anynomous - 13-Nov-08
Mr Vergeese - how can u make a statement that non performers in DAMAC have vbeen fired.. that means to say as per u half the company is non performing. Try to be a little sympethatic to the people who have lost their jobs rather than singing praises for Damac and the quality of their construction.

Mr Vergheese - by any chance are u related to someone in DAMAC [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Dubai is Growing by James Varghese - 13-Nov-08
A Anonomus,

I am basically an Investor, not working in DAMAC. I have my own company to work with.
It is not only DAMAC, there will be more retrenchment in Dubai will be expecting from Finacial Services including Banks, Real Estate, Service industry etc... in the near future.

And I request all the Institutions to give enogh time, if possible Release or NOC to its retrenched employees to find another job. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Re: Re: Why blame DAMAC by sam shaw - 12-Nov-08
damac is an epitome of what any company should NOT ever do.A toxic combination of unethical work practices,unfair and downright malafide HR practices,total disregard to the employee and customers,zero value systems,lopsided planning sycophancy and politiciking,grocery srore thinking process and to top it all arrogance.
This combination is lethal so doomsday is not far to see.They will soon be scarping the barrel
Dubai would do well to weed out such parasites from its soil [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Re: by A anynomous - 12-Nov-08
My foot - dont lie mr james vergeese .. u seem to be working there .. thats why ur licking up. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: by simon cohen - 12-Nov-08
Mr james vargese cleary is living in a world of make beleive and shooting through his hip.he is cluless abt what is happenning in damac to say it fired only non performers..almost the entire city knows that all actions in this company have been totally arbitary most certainly not based on merit to say the least. ..whatever is stated by othrs about this company are completey true and the govt should intervene to prevent this company from further ruining the tarnished image of family run companies in this part of the world.WhatDamac is doing is nothing short of draconian and these practices have no place in a modern corporate environment that Dubai as a destination is trying so desperately to attract. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: by a anynomous, nothing, unemployed - 12-Nov-08
MY FOOT dont lie!! and dont lick up ... are u still working there [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Dubai is Growing by JT Gardner - 12-Nov-08
You are absolutely mad. These facts and figures that you share will NEVER come to play out. Dubai is in serious trouble. I would seriously doubt the existence of Meraas development in a few year's time. Dubai has shot the Golden Goose and people are being squeezed out, never to return. Good luck with your projections....Mr. Varghese they are way optimistic and "pie in the sky" type of stuff. Dubai will be lucky to get Dubailand completed in the projected time. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Re: Why blame DAMAC by Sue Farmer, Media - 12-Nov-08
Suggest readers go through this


http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/investigators&id=6435476


to get an idea of the mentality of the recruitment team. They just dont care about lives of people.
They should not just close down, but be sued by each person whose life they have spoilt.

I hope Karma catches up with the recruitment team soon-and hope the owner wakes up and fires the recruitment team before they drag him down with the manner in which the co. has been run. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Why blame DAMAC by Adam S, real estate, agent - 12-Nov-08
Chris,
Let me tell you why damac is to be blamed:
* They have still not learnt and are lying about job cuts. There are more than 2.5% staff affected, total number of staff is NOT 8000 as they claim. They have laid off more than 50% staff. Ask for final numbers-its true.
* They always treated their staff like trash. The economic downturn is a blessing for them to quickly remove staff and close shop in the guise of credit crunch. They anyway were walking on very thin ice
* They are trying to announce in the media about NOC. Can anyone ask them why they did not give NOC's in the first place. Staff who had made the mistake of joining them even for 2 days were banned for 1 year. That is why they had most employees going to court.
* The recruiters lied to people and brought them from various countries-there are a minimum of 400 sales agents AND THEIR FAMILIES that curse Ms. Suji Siva for lying to them and making false promises to them and screwing their careers and lives.
* It will not surprise you that even if the whole DAMAC is fired, Ms. Suji Siva who destroyed lives will not get fired. That should tell everyone of the kind of politics at damac.
* The exploits of Ms Suji Siva's boss-MP John who everyone at damac knows are quite famous in the media already. People's promotions at damac depend on who agrees to sleep with him.
So the reason she will remain at damac till damac exists should be clear by now
* Lastly I want to clarify why we should blame damac-because it is an open harem-for sales directors, for the vp recruitment, for everyone there. The ones who are there are the ones who must have given in to the politics or the desires of the tops guys.
Damac can give whatever statements it wants-ask any employee still working-leave alone those termianted just how they feel.
I will not be surprised if they end up crying in response since they are so scared of the ban and helpless because they are stuck.
This co. should have closed long ago. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

lack of Transparency by Mazen Mansour, Piano Teacher - 11-Nov-08
that the problem of Dubai in general, lack of Transparency, so why DAMAC doesn't explain clearly in encourage statment tells their problems they face? [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Dubai is Growing by James Varghese - 11-Nov-08
I do not know why people wanted to do Distress Sales. Dubai, it will take time to mature, the correction, I mean the real correction will take only after many years. The government is giving protection to the Dubai Investors. The projects are announcing in Dubai is still at the beginning. The government has a plan behind this, they will protect the investments.

Look at the new Investments, Meraas for the example. It will cover and spread over Satwa and Jumeirah 1&2. With in a couple of years, the tenants have to move out of this area and look out for new areas to live. They can move to JLT, Marina or to the Dubailand only, so there is not going to be any more vacant flats or villas.

The same way, there are projects, the government is going to launch , revamping the entire Ras Al Khor and Rashidiya by next year, again the tenants have to move out to new destinations. Followed by Al Qouze, Deira and Al Ghusais and at the end, it is Bur Dubai and Jumeirah, Umm Suquiem area. All these projects will be finishing by 2025.
Think, once Deira and Bur Dubai is going for a shift, where all this public will move in to.By the time, all Dubailand will be congested and the rental Income will be more.

Other than this, please look in to the projects announced already. The new Al Maktoum International Airport at Jabal Ali needs 135000 employees, once it is operational. This airport will open in the 4th quarter of 2009. Look at the number of hotels are coming up, according to Movenpick, they alone need around 12000 new staffs by the end of 2009. The Metro line will be operational from 2009 and the construction will start for the Blue Line and Purple line from 2010. Once Business Bay is complete more global giants are moving to Dubai.

Right now, Dubai is the only safe heaven for the Investors. People they lost jobs in US, UK and Europe, they have move towards Middle East. 90% of those people are eyeing Dubai. With in months they will move to Dubai and they started buying properties, the prices will again go up.

After all, as RERA and govt departments say, Dubai is not a market for speculators. This should be ended. Right now, the Investors are looking for resale from day one of the properties, In future; they can only resell it only after one year or after the completion of the project.

Dear investors, please note, Dubai is not ruled by Democracy but Monarchy. In democracy, there are ruling party and opposition and they can adopt any type of policies. That can lead destruct ions in the market. Dubai is ruled by Visionary, Business Oriented Leaders. They also have Business Interests. So they never let you down.

Look at the Rent, it is just increasing only, I never saw it is decreasing. Again it will go up all these coming years. The present City cannot afford the flow of people right now. And Dubai is growing and it will grow only. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Why blame DAMAC by Chris Dayle - 11-Nov-08
It is coz of the Global Recession. DAMAC removed only 2.5% of the employees. I heard that many ex DAMAC guys are talking against the company. Damac never allows its staff to do any malpractices, but looking at sugar pots, they fall. Most of the ex employees are terminated from DAMAC, so tehy are talking against DAMAC.

Some of those ppl like Mpower are jealous of these real estate ppl coz they are making good money from the sales.

I am not supporting either DAMAC. They never supported the Investor. Their prices were too high. I discouraged many Investors of buying from DAMAC due to their high price. They offer 5% commissions to Free Lancers and they are giving excellant commissions and gifts to tehir performing sales staff. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Hot Properties Cool Off-Damac & Other Developers by Zawya Moderator - 11-Nov-08
Read Zawya Listening Post 's latest blog on Damac Properties and the wider Dubai real estate sector, and post your comments:

http://blogs.zawya.com/content/081111134450/ [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Media by David Doyle, Chief Risk Officer, Ex-DAMAC - 11-Nov-08
Being an ex-employee of the co. I too know the way damac treats its employes. Its funny how they survived for so long after treating their employees like bonded labor. And the number of lies told makes me ashamed of having worked there. 2.5% is not the number of layoffs, it is more than 60-70% of the current 1200 staff, and the rest are also counting their days. The total number of staff is also stated wrongly in the media, including contractors, etc. How much will they lie. The govt. should have truly closed them byt now with the number of people who have gone to the ministry to report against unfair practices at damac. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Media by Stuart Wilson, VP-DAMAC, ex-DAMAC - 11-Nov-08
DAMAC thinks by announcing on the radio about severance pay it will get some sympathy. But everyone knows by now that the economic downturn has only saved face for this company that was totally hollow from within. Poor sales practices, poor employee focus, shabby treatment to vendors, it was doomed for failure. The economic situation is only an excuse and damac was sure to shut down sooner or later and its a wonder the ministry did not cancel its license despite the number of labor disputes from current and old employees. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: Very normal by Jacob Mathew - 11-Nov-08
May be now atleast Damac will stop giving islands and jet planes during the DSF. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Very normal by Mohammed Bataraf, PR Manager, Badwan - 11-Nov-08
It's very very very normal. Many real estate companies will inevitably crumble in the coming 6 months. To Damac senior executives i say, some modesty is required my friends. You can not have projects more than the GDP of UAE. That is non sense. You needed to be realistic. The entire real estate market MUST have been realistic. You can not sell flats at Mall of the Emirates faster than selling potatoes at Carrefour. It's simply Non Sense - No Logic - No ABC of business principles.
No less than 70% of people who work in real estate MUST start looking for another profession - another job immediately.
Prices in Dubai, the city i adore, can be higher than Cairo or Jeddah or... but can NOT be higher than Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Osaka, French Riviera, etc... as they are now. It's Zero logic . Unfortunately, many, so many real estate people don't know what they are talking about simply because it's not their profession or they know but they keep on lying to themselves and the public on purpose because they can not admit their previous overestimation. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Developers by mpower .. - 11-Nov-08
When every Tom Dick And Harry talks about Projects worth billions of dollars, some even more then the GDP of U.A.E, this was bound to happen.

What you see is the tip of the iceberg, the next two quarters are going to be a nightmare for all, there are more then 100,000 real estate agents as they get fired they have no choice but to leave the country. The easy money days are over.

The Billion dollar question is, who announces Chapter 11 first. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: by David Betterman, Engineer - 10-Nov-08
Being an ex-employee of the company, i am not surprised this has happened. There is absolutely no proper structuring within the company and everyone is everyone's boss. The company continued to employ people on senior managment levels with very high salaries and these same people do not know anything about the work and only know how to show their power on to others. This is the end of DAMAC and the remaining employees should just resign and find other better options before its too late. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re by Nahida Ali, House Wife - 10-Nov-08
It is unfair to terminate huge number of employee immediately. I think they had problems, earlier. They are using Credit crisis as excuse only. If they were the best developer in town, they should have strong finance background. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: by Joan Goodearth, Agent, Better homes - 10-Nov-08
Damac has always been known for not paying vendors on time, haggling over small discounts with contractors and now laying off staff? Peter would be finding it hard to believe even himself now with the number of lies he has told and the number of times he has told everyone that things are 'just great'. At cityscape also he lied about the market, can he even look at his statement now that there is no money in damac accounts? No wonder the good ones are bailing out of this sinking ship... [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

by Alain Blant, SVP, Masaken - 10-Nov-08
This is not just going to happen at DAMAC, its a trend that is taking place today in every RE broker/developer in the region. Over 80 RE broker companies in the UAE with nothing new over its competitors. The herd mentality has kicked in and we all know what happens when we have too many sheep chasing the same market. Sales people who made money in the markets are out already. The market is turning the power to the buyers, the sellers had their good days! [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: by techno guy, IT professional, media - 10-Nov-08
I agree, its the good people, and not the non-performers who have been laid off. It is just one more step towards doomsday for damac.
In fact its the other way around. Good people - eg. the best in marketing-isnt damac known for its brand?-are the ones who are gone. They were the ones who could have really made damac number one but somehow the owner continues to dig his own grave by listening to people he should have really fired long ago. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

Re: by pursuant salesguy, sales, luxury products - 10-Nov-08
Yes DAMAC has let go senior staff - but the only thing that will break the preverbial camel's back is that all people let go have been the good ones. DAMAC has always been known for its politics and poor HR practices. They hired one good member of the HR fraternity at senior vp level in HR, and the moment he started to make an impact and start improving DAMAC HR practices, the ones who were threatened by him facilitated his exit. Sad for DAMAC, but it seems it does not have any good people left, and the CEO and CM dont even know (or dont want to know) what is happening in their co. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]