Binladin Group reportedly cuts 50,000 jobs

Saudi Binladin Group (SGB) terminated employment contracts of 50,000 workers as pressures on the government arise due to cheap oil prices, local Al-Watan newspaper reported Friday, citing unnamed sources.

The report said the workers refused to leave the country without getting paid and that some had not received wages in at least four months. They gathered outside the construction company’s office to protest daily.

The troubled construction firm has also terminated contracts of 10,000 out of 16,000 workers supervising its urgent projects in Jeddah, Makkah and Al-Madina, the report added.

In March, foreign workers from India, Pakistan, and Egypt claimed they had not been paid for almost seven months.

The company had several disputes with its workers over unpaid dues this year.