Australian firm says overseas divisions will bear brunt of cuts

Lendlease is axing more than 750 jobs worldwide with the Sydney-based firm saying its global workforce, which includes 1,100 based in the UK, bearing the brunt of the cuts.

The firm employs around 7,800 people across four regions, including Australia, the Americas and Asia.

It employs around 1,200 people at its Europe business which consists mainly of the UK and a smaller presence in Italy.

lendlease

UK jobs are set to go as the firm prepares to cut more than 750 staff worldwide

Lendlease has told staff that around 5% of its Australian business will lose their jobs with 15% of its global workforce going as well.

The firm said across the whole group, the job losses will amount to around 10% of its workforce.

According to its last set of numbers, the firm’s Europe business employed just under 1,100 staff in the UK and Italy.

The cuts are part of a five year restructuring initiative introduced by chief executive Tony Lombardo in 2021.

Lombardo said: “It’s never easy making decisions that directly impact our people. However, they’re absolutely necessary in order to generate more resilient returns for our securityholders and sustainable careers for our ongoing workforce.”

The commercial real estate sector is still coming to terms with lower demand for space following he pandemic while higher interest rates have blunted property values and made borrowing money more expensive putting the brakes on project starts.