A stubbornly tepid commercial real estate market saw Toll Brothers taking action to increase 1Q2023 margins. Ryan Mulligan covered its recent cost-cutting tactics in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The Fort Washington luxury home developer saw new home orders drop to about half of what they were this time last year. And even for contracts that were signed, their values dipped by 51 percent over the same period.

Among the most obvious efforts to boost profitability is a reduction in human resources.

CEO Doug Yearley confirmed the headcount trims. “We’re learning how to be more efficient with less people,” he said.

Toll Brothers representatives declined to say just how many of its professionals had been affected.

Toll Brothers employs close to 1,300 people in the area, according to the latest Philadelphia Business Journal data. The company had about 5,200 total employees as of the end of its most recent fiscal year, Oct. 31.

Yearley further commented that he doubts if the headcount cuts would negatively affect the developer’s ability to return to market upswings.

More on Toll Brothers’ cost-cutting measures is at the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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Like Toll Brothers, the Walt Disney Company has taken to trimming jobs to stem corporate losses.