know anyone leaving?
 

How's the local life treating you all? Know anyone leaving Dubai, still getting it all to work for you?

All is well for me... ish, work is slow, and I suspect a potentially difficult conversation for me this week. So let's see.

I certainly won't hang around if it involves me having to deflate my expat bubble a bit :lol:

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

From the Qatar end I haven't heard of potentially difficult conversations. I know 2-3 people who know it can happen but it hasn't happened yet as their companies are still figuring out how/where they can be kept on other projects.

The big cull at my company was last year. We recently had the head honchos from the US at the office but they confirmed we're ok this year. Overhead is low enough, projects are sufficient for our numbers, we're invited to bid on tenders later this year. It helps that the company is booming in the US so there's less pressure over the slight loss we're still making. But there's no recruitment either. Nor does the #1 client seem to be showing any indication of paying the hugely outstanding amounts owed to us.

I suspect what's true for my company is similar for much of Qatar, even other sectors. The big culls are over, but there's no expansion or hiring beyond necessary replacements, so there's no influx of new people. Rents are still dropping.

But and this is a big but, it's Qatar and with the embargo this picture could change very quickly any day.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

I hope you hang around a bit longer mate.

We're busy to a point, Expo keeps us ticking over and in my very small team we cover 3 of the five global hubs so we can be kept busy elsewhere too.

Just back in Dubai though, it's ****ing slow. Minimal new work coming, RFPs are like gold dust from what I see on reports. Very strange.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Africa will save me. May have to move to Kenya or Egypt though. Would take Egypt first, oddly.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Africa is going to keep us going . Two large projects in East Africa will definitely help us.

The local construction market is saturated as always. It's the usual smoke and mirrors and dangling of non existent carrots.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

The company I joined seemed to be expanding, but we're specialists and seem to be picking work up. Not sure how long-term this is going to be.

Now that I've moved to the flat on the Palm, I've noticed a couple of things. Firstly, the number of empty car-parking spaces in my building. It looks to be half-empty/full, depending on your outlook. Secondly, the Galleria along the Golden Mile....there are loads of empty shop units, all with "new unit coming soon" plastered all over them...and peeling off. Looks like they've been empty for ages...if not since they built the place.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Get a villa out in Karen and a fleet of maids and spend your days basking in the glow of the African sunset with a chilled G&T.

But don't forget the security guards.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

It's high time Dubai learned you can't build 90% of your commercial space as luxury space when 90% of the population is either working or middle class.

And that you can replicate the exact same damn shops and restaurant in every mall and shopping centre and no one will notice :unsure:

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Karen to the office is around 2 hours on a bad day. I do like Karen though. Great place to chill with a tusker.

Karen or Maddi are probably my basic options.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

There will be some voluntary exits from our place due to shrinking balance sheets and an expectation that profits will tank - there seems to be a general exodus from Kuwait from the western expat pool (apparently the Indian pool is reducing too).







Good luck with your discussion

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Well, the good news is that I think they will fire my boss as a token first, and from there see where we go. And getting rid of me will take a while due to how we operate so not all bad. I'm not losing sleep just yet.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

What kind of notice period do you have? Or will they just buy it out and security march you from the building :lol:

It's never fun getting the chop but at least you have a chance now to scout around for some other opportunity, in case the axe does fall.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

That's the downside to the UAE, I always have the feeling that everything could go tits up without warning

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

It seems alarmingly regular that bad news is surfacing. Daily now it seems. :huh:

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

What other bad news are surfacing? Or are you referring to hearing of more mates being made redundant?

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

It's a complicated contractual structure, but it would be something like a 13-14 month payout, of which I would potentially work for six. In any event they would try and put me somewhere else first or let me look for something. Not so bad.

It's amazing how things changed in January.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

This is why I'm not going to get anything that will involve local debt. I think it's wise to be able to leave at the drop of a hat if needed.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Debt doesn't stop you being able to leave Jimmy, it stops you being able to come back. :lol:

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

I remember 2008-2009.

We all went home for Christmas in good cheer, things were slowing certainly but no one was panicking.

In January within a 10 day period about half the contacts were suddenly cancelled or put on hold :eek:

I survived the cull. But about 50% were made redundant in early February.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Haha. Touche. :lol:

Let's just say lesson learned.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

I fully expect to be let go this year, I'm so quiet (work wise), e.g. right now I'm sat on the sofa watching the Superbowl highlights. I'm pre sales (ERP software).

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

That's not so bad then, you're relatively insulated from an immediate shock. I don't think that things change that fast, it's more like people put off looking at the hard decisions until forced to and then have to act fast.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Work situation has been dire for the last 12 months, much worse than the last recession which seemed to just clear out the idiots. Would have left 6 months ago if it wasn't for the fact we need to consolidate everything into a family home to go back to and Brexit is ballsing that up.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Didn't unemployment in the UK just fall to a 42 year low?

I've a few mates who're getting offers left and right back home because there's a big drop off in interest from EU job seekers and firms are also more reluctant to hire EU nationals.

Returning to the UK without a job offer in hand is always daunting at the onset but it also always works out at the end. Same was true in the glory days.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

New projects, contracts etc all very limited.
Client shakedowns causing issues to projects we're one.

All just negative press. No big project wins for us at the moment.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

I don’t want to pick cabbages.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

It’s a massive cushion, no sleep need be lost.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

That side of thing doesn't bother me, it's more having to move the wife, kids, dog and cat into a one bed flat. Also, they're a lot less keen to go than I am. Not sure about the cat, she's sitting on the fence at the moment.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

...or contribute to the huge influx of people to the UK before they leave the EU?

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

If you abandon the cat to the streets of Dubai may the demons from the 9th circle of hell raise out of the ground and drag you down to spend eternity frozen in ice.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

EU migration numbers are down.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

This will cheer you up. (unless you are French)

https://i.imgur.com/E03guvS.jpg

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Bin the cat and then you've got a decision made: stay.

Really?

Guess those smart Europeans don't want to board a sinking ship then.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

I'd rather dump the family, take the pets and go live in the flat we can't get a respectable offer on.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

What a strike that was. :thumbup:

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Ah well, time will tell, not these leagues of armchair economists :sarcasm: with amazing insight into the future. :cool:

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Let's hope it ends up successful for everyone. If the UK is booming that would be fantastic.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

It's not. Everywhere else in the world might be, but the UK has got very low growth right now. As alluded to above, it may be that jobs are coming free because EU nationals are leaving.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

Of course it's not.
I just can't be arsed to argue with DXBtoDOH in every thread.

Re: know anyone leaving?
 

OK, sorry. You carry on... ;):lol: