Saudi ministry mulls shutting down small grocers

Saudi Arabia’s labor ministry is reviewing a proposal from the kingdom’s Shura council to shut down small neighborhood grocery stores which are not capable of hiring more than one Saudi man or woman, Saudi Gazette reported, citing council member Mohammed Al-Khineizi.

Under the proposal, licenses would be restricted to larger retailers capable of hiring more Saudi nationals.

Al-Khineizi said high number of small groceries contradicts the kingdom’s goal of Saudization as they rely heavily on expatriate workers.

“These shops rely on workers from abroad, which leads to an increase in foreign recruitment at a time the state is striving to cut down the number of expatriate workers in the country and raise the Saudization level,” Al-Khineizi was quoted by the newspaper as saying.