NEW YORK, United States — Brookfield Property Partners LP, a large owner of malls in the US, is cutting its workforce as the pandemic batters the retail industry.

The job cuts will hit approximately 20 percent of the employees in the real estate company’s retail arm, according to a memo to staff on Monday. The unit has more than than 2,000 workers, according to a spokeswoman, who declined to comment beyond the memo.

Brookfield bet big on retail in the US with its purchase of mall owner GGP Inc. for about $15 billion in 2018. Since then, pressure has been mounting across the industry, with the pandemic pushing even more customers to embrace the convenience of e-commerce.

The firm’s shares have dropped about 40 percent this year. In May, Brookfield Asset Management Inc., the parent company of Brookfield Property Partners, announced a plan to invest $5 billion to take minority stakes in retailers that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

The job cuts were reported earlier by CNBC.

By Natalie Wong