Laing O’Rourke denies Mideast closure rumour
LAING O'ROURKE WORKED ON THE ATLANTIS HOTEL IN DUBAI
Construction company Laing O’Rourke has dismissed speculation suggesting its Middle East operation will close.
In an emailed statement to Business 24/7, a spokesperson for the British business said: “Laing O’Rourke is not closing its Middle East operations.”
Quoting an unnamed source, trade website building.co.uk reported over the weekend that Laing O’Rourke was cutting its global workforce from 35,753 to 20,000.
“It’s been a nightmare for my family and hundreds of former colleagues who are out of work,” the source told the website. “The firm can’t employ more than 4,500 workers and 900 professional staff in the Middle East now, which is down from about 16,000 and 5,000 during the boom – a fall of about three-quarters.”
The report added that Laing O’Rourke’s downsizing would affect its south Asian operations.
But the company insisted on Monday that speculation concerning the closure of its Middle East operation was false.
Laing O’Rourke is the UK’s third largest contractor, with operations in the Middle East since 2006. It worked on the Atlantis hotel in Dubai and doubled its turnover for the Middle East to $225 million last year.
I don’t believe a word that LOR say – they are only making this comment as they haven’t told the staff yet. Another communications error.