DUBAI: Global holding company Dubai World said on Thursday that it has largely completed its organizational restructuring, which would help save $800 million in operating costs over the next three years.

The company, which faces looming debt obligations, including a closely watched $3.5 billion bond due later this year, said that the reorganization builds on the changes announced in June when management of Jumeirah Golf Estates, Jumeirah Lakes Towers and the real estate activities of Dubai Maritime City moved to Dubai World real estate company Nakheel.

As a result of the overall reorganization, the company is scheduled to benefit by more than $800 million in operating savings over the next three years.

The total workforce managed by Dubai World companies globally has been reduced by approximately 15 percent to less than 70,000. However, the reduction is around 25 percent in the UAE, largely as a result of the downturn in the real estate market in the region.

“Whilst the challenges we faced are not unique, with no global entity immune from the pressures of the world wide recession, we are confident that Dubai World and its subsidiaries are appropriately focused and properly structured to embrace the new global reality,” Dubai World Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said in a statement e-mailed to Arab News.

“Our diverse portfolio of assets around the world, together with our significant interests here in Dubai, provides us with an exciting and compelling future. With the reorganization, the group enters this next vital phase of our evolution better able to withstand all economic eventualities.