Emirates NBD lays off about 300 workers

Dubai: Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, has laid off around 300 people in recent weeks at two subsidiaries due to a weaker economy, a spokesman said yesterday.

The bank made around 100 people redundant from Emirates Money as part of a move to merge the small business finance provider with Emirates NBD’s operations to save costs, the spokesman said.

Emirates Islamic (EI), the group’s sharia-compliant arm, also shed around 200 people, the spokesman said.

Earlier yesterday, ENBD reported a first-quarter net profit of 1.81 billion dirhams ($492.8 million), up by 8 per cent from the same period a year earlier.