Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) might reduce their workforce by half with plans in place to carry out 500-plus job cuts at the recently acquired Noor Bank as part of cost cuts across both lenders, according to reports from Reuters. 

With more than 9,000 employees, DIB has acquired Noor Bank which has about 1,200 to 1,400 full-time staff. 

As the Dubai market continues to face an economic downturn in the property sector, the announcement of the job cuts adds to the evidence that the scenario for white-collar jobs in the UAE still awaits an upturn. 

The banking sector in the UAW has seen a series of mergers because of increasingly difficult competition in addition to regulations that have put considerable pressure on jobs in the financial sector as well. Last month, DIB completed the merger deal of Noor Bank, thus making DIB one of the world’s largest Islamic banks, with total assets of Dhs 275 Bn that is $75 Bn. 

In order to carry out the merger seamlessly, the managers and top level executives from both DIB and Noor Bank have been conducting in-depth discussions about decisions such as which jobs to keep and which ones to let go. 

According to media reports, John Iossifidis, CEO, Noor Bank, has announced his resignation. 

As the Arab world’s second-biggest economy faces mounting pressure from global economic forces, employers are taking measures to cut costs and focus their resources on highly-skilled talent and new technologies.