One of the world’s largest commercial real estate investors hasdramatically reduced its presence in the nation’s capital.

Brookfield has been offloading D.C.-area office buildings for months, and a source who left the company now tells Bisnow it has also been laying people off and is preparing to largely end its operations in the city.

The company had more than 100 people in its 655 New York Ave. NW office three years ago. It gradually reduced the headcount to about 40 a few months ago, at which point, the company informed the majority of them that they would be let go, according to the source, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal communications from their former employer.

Now, the company has fewer than 10 people in its D.C. office who report to other teams, like its hospitality and risk management divisions, the source said.

Brookfield spokesperson Andrew Brent disputed that claim, saying the company has reduced its D.C. headcount but still has 30 full-time employees in the city.

He did not directly address claims that Brookfield is winding down its operations in the city and declined to comment on if additional layoffs are imminent.

“Our operating team has always scaled with acquisitions and dispositions within our portfolio,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “While our DC office team has become smaller as we’ve completed business plans for several investments in recent years, the biggest change was the result of our strategic partnership with CBRE.”

In January 2024, Brookfield said it was outsourcing all of its U.S. office property management to CBRE.

The former Brookfield source didn’t know if the company would be fully leaving the Massachusetts Avenue office or keeping a small space for the “straggler” employees.

The spokesperson declined to comment on the future of the company’s office space or the assets it owns in the region.

But Brookfield is looking to sell a prominent development site along the city’s waterfront.

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