Stockland to shed 80 jobs

Development group Stockland will cut 80 jobs as the new chief executive, Mark Steinert, enacts his cost cutting focus, according to The Australian Financial Review.

It reports the $8.6 billion listed property group has cut gross overheads by 10% in the past year and is aiming for another 10% in 2014, with half of that coming from staffing costs and the remainder from better processes and a national approach to procurement.

The cuts follow an announcement by Steinert that cost-cutting would be a primary focus of his regime.

Steinert recently dropped the three ‘r’ focus on residential, retail and retirement, in favour of a focus on medium density residential and retail.

The executive team at Stockland was also given a shakeup recently with the group announcing the departure of chief financial officer, Tim Foster, and head of residential, Mark Hunter.

And Steinert said there was pain ahead for Stockland investors before a recovery from about 2016 onwards with another $49 million worth of write-downs identified on previously impaired projects.