(Yicai Global) Dec. 2 -- Chinese real estate developer Seazen Holdings started to merge some of its regional divisions yesterday and its headquarters has begun downsizing amid a marked slowdown in the industry which is likely to result in job cuts.

The 14 regional offices of the firm’s residential property division and the four regional offices of its commercial division will be condensed into ten offices, according to an internal company document seen by Yicai Global. Each regional office will set up a new firm to handle the residential and commercial business in the area. They will be given new business functions and are expected to have more say.

It was very unexpected and caused panic, an employee told Yicai Global. The human resources department has told a number of staff members that they will be transferred. Other have been advised to leave. A new employee still on probation was told to leave on Dec. 1, another staff member said.

The residential and commercial property divisions will continue to develop in parallel, the Shanghai-based company told Yicai Global. The commercial development team will take the lead in areas where there are more commercial projects, while the residential development team will take charge in areas with more housing projects. Earlier this year, Seazen implement a similar restructuring, reducing 19 regional offices to 14.

Seazen’s stock price [SHA:601155] closed up 1.31 percent at CNY31.78 (USD5) today. The stock has lost 30 percent of its value in the last six months.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor