Lendlease to cut 740 staff in global purge

Property giant Lendlease is cutting 740 staff across its global business, equal to about 10 per cent of its workforce.

The job cuts will result in a 5 per cent reduction of staff in Australia, with a 15 per cent reduction in staff offshore. The cuts are expected to achieve between $80 million and $100 million in cost savings.

In an internal email to staff seen by this masthead, Lendlease chief Tony Lombardo said the greatest reduction will be in its three international regions – America, Europe and Asia Pacific – “as they align to our permanent shift to being an investment-led company with a leaner operating structure, where resources are shared and not replicated in market”.

“It’s never easy making such big decisions – ones that directly affect so many of our colleagues,” the email said.

On July 1, Lendlease said it had frozen hiring due to the tough conditions for property developers and concerns about rising costs across the building industry.

Loading

The move is part of the overhaul Lombardo flagged last November at the group’s strategy update, where he said he’d continue to reduce the cost base and align the workforce around projects and activities that generated the highest value for security holders.

This is the second cut Lombardo has made since taking over in June 2021 from former CEO Steve McCann. That saw 400 jobs go, mainly in Australia, and resulted in $170 million in cost savings.

The ASX-listed Lendlease has a market value of $5.89 billion and operates in three business units: development, construction and investment.