For months now, many businesses in Lebanon have been closing down, including renowned restaurants and cinema theaters like the Cheesecake Factory, Metropolis Cinema Theater, and Beirut Cat Cafe.
This closing comes amid a financial and economic crisis Lebanon has been suffering from for years and is rapidly reaching its climax as of 2020 and the upcoming months. Small businesses are closing down, and other businesses are paying their employees half salaries.
One of the places to be closing soon is LeMall Sin El-Fil in Beirut. This mall, which was planning to open also in Byblos in 2020, is said to have currently around 500 employees. All will be left unemployed.
The concerning news has been deliberated around social media that ‘the management of LeMall commercial complex in Sin El-Fil (Al Habtoor)’ informed its employees that it would close the complex within two months.
Al Habtoor Group is a UAE based company with interests in the hospitality, automotive, real estate, education, and publishing sectors. It has many branches around the globe, including London, Vienna, Budapest, Springfield, Illinois, and Beirut.
Sources said that the administration of LeMall has been already paying half salaries for the past three months. Employees are now reporting that the administration sent out emails to all informing them that their services will be ending by the beginning of next April.
No official statement has been announced by the mall. Sources told Annahar that Azadea, which is authorized to make the decision to close or not, has informed Al Habtoor that it will close part of the shops due to the decreased work level.
Azadea Group is a premier lifestyle retail company that owns and operates more than 50 leading international franchise concepts in 13 countries, overseeing over 650 stores across the Middle East and Africa.
These include fashion and accessories, food and beverage, home furnishings, sporting goods, multimedia, and beauty and cosmetics.
Sources confirmed to Annahar that Al Habtoor has not issued any official statement about the closing as of this hour. However, employees have confirmed receiving the email notification.