Wesgroup Properties, a well-known real estate developer in Vancouver, recently announced large-scale layoffs. One of the largest private housing enterprises in western Canada with a history of more than 60 years is facing severe challenges. Bo Jarvis, president of the company, said frankly that this was the "most difficult day" in the history of the company-due to the soaring construction materials and labor costs, high land prices, high interest rates and a depressed pre-sale market, many development projects have fallen into financial difficulties and had to be suspended or postponed.

Although the specific number of layoffs was not disclosed, Jarvis stressed that this adjustment involves more than ten core departments such as development, construction and sales, and the company has tried its best to avoid layoffs by selling assets and optimizing processes. At present, Wesgroup still has 49 projects under construction in Dawen area, including more than 1,700 houses and over one million square feet of commercial space, but new projects have been completely stopped in the future. Rennie, another real estate company in Vancouver, has laid off a quarter of its staff, while the inventory of unsold apartments in Dawen area is expected to surge by 60% this year. To ease the pressure on the industry, Vancouver City Council passed a new policy this week to allow developers to postpone the payment of development fees.