Saudi Binladin company axes one fourth of staff

Saudi construction company Binladin Group has cut 25 percent of its employees as the Arab state plunges into financial crisis.

The company terminated the contracts of 50,000 foreign workers, Saudi newspaper al-Watan quoted unnamed sources as saying on Friday.

Binladin has employed 200,000 over the past decade.

The report also said daily protests are taking place in front of the company’s offices as some workers have not been paid for more than four months.

The company is run by the Bin Laden family, which has close ties with Saudi Arabia's ruling family. Known as the second largest construction company in the world after French firm Vinci Construction, the Jeddah-based conglomerate was founded in 1931 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Laden, the father of al-Qaeda’s slain leader Osama bin Laden. In the 1990s, Osama bin Laden was purportedly disowned by the family.

In September, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman slapped sanctions on Binladen over a construction crane crash incident in the holy city of Mecca that killed more than 100 pilgrims.

The company, like other construction companies, has also been negatively affected by the slump in oil prices in the past year as the government cut spendings in a bid to plug a budget deficit. Saudi Arabia relies on oil for nearly 90 percent of its revenue.

ME