Coronavirus impact: Danube to not lay off its 3,600 workers

Danube Group, which employs 3,600 people, will not lay off employees despite the impact of coronavirus on the sector and economy as construction work on the developer's projects is moving ahead, said its chairman on Saturday.
"There are layoffs across the region and worldwide but we are not going to cut staff at Danube Group. All the construction sites are running and people are working but not as fast as it used to be. Other developers who are able to pay have also their sites working," said Rizwan Sajan during a webinar hosted by the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) on Saturday.
Construction sector has been exempted from the lockdown announced by the government along with other key strategic industries such as healthcare and banking. BNC Projects Journal's February data showed that work on the construction and infrastructure projects continued apace in the country.
Recently, two UAE banks - Ajman Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank - also announced that they will not make any of their employees redundant despite pressure following the outbreak of virus.
Post-Covid-19, he pointed out that construction sector will continue at steady pace but there may not be a lot of new launches.
Sajan hoped that the country will be out of the Covid-19 crisis in 2-3 months and will be among the first countries to announce victory over the virus, thanks to a large number of tests being conducted on the residents and the healthcare being provided to patients.
The quick victory over the virus, according to Danube founder, will improve foreign investors' confidence on the UAE's healthcare system and its economy.
"Prices can fall further - there is no question about it. But as a buyer, you should buy property when prices are falling, rather than rising. There is a lot of bargains in the market and distressed sales because of people losing jobs.
"But at the end, Covid-19 is not going to last longer. We should be out of it in three months," he said during IBPC webinar.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com