Brookfield Properties to lay off approximately 20% of staff

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Sep 24, 2020

Retail real estate powerhouse Brookfield Properties is laying off approximately 20% of its workforce, as the Covid-19 pandemic makes a major dent in mall leasing business, according to an email received by CNBC. 

The layoffs were made “to align with the future scale of our portfolio," the company said in the email, and will see employees cut from both the company's corporate and leasing agent teams.

“While many companies were quick to implement furloughs and layoffs at the onset of the pandemic, we made the conscious decision to keep all our team employed while we gained a better understanding of its longer-term impact on our company,” wrote Jared Chupaila, chief executive officer of Brookfield Properties’ retail group. 

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The cuts come at a time when competitor Tennessee-based mall owner CBL & Associates is set to file for bankruptcy by October 1, and Simon Property Group, the biggest U.S. mall owner, has furloughed 30% of both its full and part-time staff. 

Brookfield Properties is a North American subsidiary of Toronto, Canada-based alternative asset management firm Brookfield Asset Management. Employing over 2,000 people in its retail division, the company currently operates over 170 shopping centers across 42 states.

FashionNetwork.com has reached out to the company for comment.