Dubai - Ali Rashid Ahmed Lootah new chairman of Nakheel

source Wall Street Journal
The government here replaced Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem as chairman of
Nakheel, the property developer that the city-state is restructuring
along with its one-time parent Dubai World.
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The big next question in Dubai - Layoff at Limitless and Nakheel

Dubai, February 14, 2010
original source  Blog Crane Country The National by Bradley Hope

Dubai World property developers have undergone a new round of lay-offs, as chief restructuring advisor Aiden Birkett cuts the companies down to size and reduces costs.

Limitless has laid off about 20 per cent, or 55, of its staff. It currently has 220 employees, according to former staff. The company had about 500 staff at its peak.

"Limitless has reorganised and streamlined its operations as part of its ongoing strategy to reduce costs while continuing to maximise productivity," a spokeswoman said. "Regrettably, this has impacted jobs."

A Nakheel spokesperson said the company "continues to readjust its current business objectives and the resources to match as part of the restructuring process". The company has previously let go of more than 1,000 people. It had 3,500 people at its peak.

The fate of these two property developers is the next big question in Dubai. They owe billions of dirhams in debt to banks and contractors. And they have giant, unfinished projects that need new capital to ever be complete. Nakheel's Palm Jebel Ali - which is even larger than the finished Palm Jumeirah - comes to mind.

As does the Arabian Canal, which was a planned 75km waterway through the desert outside Dubai. A short visit to the site this weekend found it completely abandoned, although the company did impressively dig several kilometres of it. (Check out the original multimedia package The National did on the canal here.) More pictures of the current state of the canal here.

Some analysts believe they will be merged together after selling off some assets to become a new Dubai developer with a new brand. Others believe that at least one of them will simply be liquidated. Another optimistic camp believes they will be restructured and continue operating. Either way, there are major changes afoot.