Exclusive | China property developer follows Huawei with job cuts in Australia amid souring Beijing-Canberra ties
- Chinese state developer Poly Developments and Holdings told its Sydney and Melbourne offices that a ‘substantial’ number of employees will be cut this year
- News that Huawei Technologies will cut jobs from its Australia operations amid growing tensions between Beijing and Canberra also emerged this week
Chinese state developer Poly Developments and Holdings will cut jobs at its Australian real estate arm as it moves to slow capital investments in Australia amid a coronavirus pandemic-led downturn and souring relations between the two countries.
On Thursday afternoon, Poly Australia told more than 100 employees across its offices in Sydney and Melbourne that a “substantial” number of staff will be cut by the end of the year as the company restructures to cope with the impact of Covid-19 and Australia’s first recession in nearly 30 years, according to people briefed on the decision.
Poly Australia denied rumours that it had been tapped by Beijing to leave the Australian market entirely, saying it will instead scale down its investments and exercise caution with regard to future projects.
These challenges place a responsibility on the management of companies such as Poly Global to ensure that we survive the downturn so we can thrive if conditions improve
“The global economic challenges flowing from Covid-19 have been felt across all parts of the Australian economy. These challenges place a responsibility on the management of companies such as Poly Global to ensure that we survive the downturn so we can thrive if conditions improve,” a company spokesman said.