Employment Adjustment Strategy For A Property Development Company During Economic Crisis

During business crisis, cost cut back is necessary. The immediate contemplation usually comes to employee layoffs. However, less disturbing set of approaches can be exercise to cut back labor costs. This research explores strategy for adjusting employment for a property development company during the two economic crises in Thailand during both 1997 ñ 2000 and 2008 ñ 2009. The scope focuses on for-sale property development companies, both low-rise (single detached, duplex, and townhouse) and high-rise (condominium). The data is from the questionnaire survey with real estate developers who are the members of the three main real estate associations in Thailand. The research explores many approaches for employment adjustment, including layoff, pay cuts, reduction of overtime, bonus cuts, and reassignment/dispatching. These approaches are analyzed against three attributes of a property development company: product type (low-rise, high-rise, and mixed products), the size of capital, and the business experience (year). The results from this research reflect experiences which can be beneficial for property providersí management approaches not only during business crisis but also during other business phases.