New Delhi: The outbreak of the deadly Covid-19 virus has started to take a toll on the employment scenario in the real estate sector with many firms now laying off employees, besides reducing the sallies of the remaining staff.
Compass, a real estate brokerage firm in USA, has decided to lay off about 15 percent of its entire workforce. That translates into 375 jobs. The company has reduced the salaries of the rest of the employees. The CEO himself has taken a salary cut of 100 percent.
Another company Knotel, a flexible office provider, has cut down its workforce by half. It has laid-off 127 employees and put another 68 on furlough.
The Guild, a rental service provider, has cut down its workforce by 20 percent. The company laid-off about 40 people. Zeus Living, a firm that offers furnished apartments to business travelers, cut down its workforce by 30 percent by laying off 80 employees.
Back home India, things can take a much more ugly look in terms of firing scenario. The real estate industry has been grappling with slowing sales for a number of years and the corona outbreak has made things worse. The companies will be left with no choice but to lay off employees. Even the emerging segments like co-working and co-living will see massive layoff with the business model now suddenly looking unviable.