Major B.C. real estate developer announces layoffs

In a sign of the times in B.C.’s struggling real estate sector, one of the province’s biggest developers has announced it is being forced to lay off staff.

Wesgroup Properties attributes the job cuts to what it describes as a “cost-of-delivery crisis,” citing rising costs, stalled condo sales, and economic uncertainty.

Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, says people are struggling to qualify for mortgages, which is stifling demand, but he says that is only part of the story.

“A lot of is also … cyclical,” he said. “The costs of development have similarly increased in terms of labour, materials, and finance.”

In a statement on LinkedIn, CEO Beau Jarvis said this was the hardest day in the company’s 60-year history.

It isn’t clear how many people have been let go.

This is the second major real estate industry player to announce cuts in recent weeks. Just last month, Rennie and Associates, a marketing firm, reduced its staff by 25 per cent.

Wesgroup stresses that current projects will still move ahead and that its portfolio remains strong.

— With files from Michael Williams.