In Dubai the Party is Already Over - with one exception [ANDY BLAIR, PICTURED]

The expat rumour mill, which has gone into overdrive since the economic crisis struck in October, talks in dark tones about companies letting whole departments go at a stroke or shedding small groups of employees every week to minimise bad publicity. - ft.com

NVDL: Moral of the story - those who innovate (and enjoy a little luck) will survive.

clipped from www.ft.com Dubai’s Hot 100 party last month was a reminder of the city’s high-rolling times before the credit crunch. The annual celebration, laid on by a magazine profiling the United Arab Emirates’ smart set, drew a crowd of boldfaced names: Thaksin Shinawatra, former Thai prime minister, mingled with developer Sulaiman al-Fahim, who brokered the sale of Manchester City football club to an Abu Dhabi sheikh. But among the employees of ITP, the magazine’s publisher, the free drinks were going down with more than the usual gusto. That week ITP cut its staff by about 10 per cent. “People knew the sackings were coming, and sure enough it was rough,” says one of those axed. For thousands of expatriates lured to Dubai by the promise of year-round sunshine and a tax-free lifestyle, the party is over. Corporate restructurings have arrived hard on the heels of steep falls in property prices and plummeting consumer confidence; El Dorado is fading back into desert. “It’s a nightmare,” says one.