Binladin Group says laid-off workers fully compensated

Saudi Binladin Group, the kingdom’s biggest contractor, has fully compensated employees who were affected by recent layoffs, a company spokesperson told Middle East Economic Digest (MEED).

“The Group is honoring its commitments and the affected employees have already received their full compensations and any other entitlements in accordance with the applicable laws,’’ a company spokesman said, adding that the contractor would honor “the same commitment in case further manpower is released.”

The statement came a day after angry workers set fire to several company buses over unpaid wages and layoffs. Some media reports suggested that at least 50,000 employees at Binladin Group, including 12, 000 Saudis, had lost their jobs.

Following the protest, the company reportedly blocked workers and buses from accessing a worksite at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA).

The spokesperson also revealed that most of the jobs which had been cut were initially recruited for contracted projects with specific timeframes and deliverables.

“Our manpower size is always proportional to the nature and scale of the undertaken projects, along with the time spans required to complete them,” the spokesperson explained.

Like other contractors in the kingdom, Binladin Group was hit hard as the government cut spending to shrink a budget deficit of about $100 billion last year.