Dubai fund Abraaj set to slash nearly 15pc jobs
DUBAI, March 31, 2018
Abraaj Group, the Middle East’s largest buyout fund, is cutting about 15 per cent of its total workforce as it seeks to trim costs, placate investors and curb the tumult that followed allegations of misused funds, said a report, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Positions are being eliminated globally, mostly in back-office operations and among junior employees, with most of the affected staff being notified on Thursday, reported Bloomberg. No partners will be fired, the report said.
A leading player in the region, Abraaj employs about 350 people, it added.
“It is always difficult to separate talented people from the firm,” the Dubai-based buyout firm said in a statement.
“The personnel changes we are making as part of this re-organization will help ensure that Abraaj is better positioned for operational effectiveness and sustainable growth,” it added.
Paring jobs may help alleviate the pressure on the new leaders taking control of the 16-year-old firm’s asset management business from founder Arif Naqvi, said the Bloomberg report.
Abraaj, which concluded that money in its health fund hadn’t been misused following an internal review, has nevertheless been forced to return capital in a new fund and halt fresh investments while it reorganizes its structure and prepares to introduce new internal controls, it added.
The firm is in the final stages of separating Abraaj Investment Management from the holding company that Naqvi will run, said the report citing the sources.
The job cuts will save costs and allow the firm to remain profitable, it added.
