Saudi Builder Binladin Terminates 50,000 Jobs-Newspaper
By REUTERS

DUBAI — Construction company Saudi Binladin Group has laid off 50,000 staff, a newspaper reported on Friday, as pressure on the industry rises amid government spending cuts to survive an era of cheap oil.

The total workforce at Binladin, one of Saudi Arabia's biggest firms and among the Middle East's largest builders, is around 200,000, according to its LinkedIn page.

Saudi newspaper al-Watan, citing unnamed sources, reported that the group has terminated the contracts of 50,000 workers - apparently all foreigners - and given them permanent exit visa to leave the kingdom.

The paper said the workers refused to leave the country without getting paid and some had not received wages for more than four months. They were protesting in front of the Binladin's offices in the country almost daily, the paper added.

Binladin did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on Friday, a day off in the Gulf region.

The company has had a series of pay disputes with workers this year. In March, scores of workers gathered outside one of the company's office in Saudi Arabia to demand unpaid wages.

Binladin prospered during Saudi Arabia's economic boom in the past decade, employing around 200,000 workers as it built many of the kingdom's flagship infrastructure projects including airports, roads and skyscrapers.

But like many other Saudi construction firms, it has been hit hard in the past year as low oil prices have prompted the government to slash spending in an effort to curb a budget deficit that totalled nearly $100 billion (£68.2 billion) last year.

Labour market reforms, designed to push more Saudi citizens into private sector jobs, have since 2011 made it more difficult and expensive for construction firms to hire foreign workers, pressuring the industry.

In September, the Saudi royal court said Binladin had been suspended from taking new contracts after a crane toppled into Mecca's Grand Mosque during a dust storm, killing 107 people.

An initial government probe found Binladin had not properly secured the crane. Binladin did not issue a public statement in response to the suspension.

Binladin has been discussing how to manage its debts with banks and a few have agreed to refinance some debt through steps such as extending maturities, with some providing short-term financing for the company’s working capital including staff wages, banking sources had said.

Saudi Binladen Group was founded in the 1930s by the father of the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. One of the father's over 50 children, the Islamist radical was removed as a shareholder in the business in 1993 and disowned by the family.

大裁5萬人！沙國減開支 民間賓拉丹集團震盪

沙烏地阿拉伯政府近來因為油價處於低檔而減少開支，營建業連帶承受日益沉重的壓力，其中的賓拉丹集團已經裁員5萬人。

賓拉丹集團是沙國與中東最大的營建公司之一，員工總數約20萬。沙國「民族日報」引述匿名人士的說法報導，該集團已經解雇5萬人，而且顯然全數是外籍勞工，這些人則因為該集團積欠薪資而不肯離境，有些人甚至已經七個月未領得薪資，最近幾乎天天在沙國首都利雅德的該集團大樓前抗議。

賓拉丹集團今年多次爆發勞資爭議，數十名勞工3月在一處分公司大樓前集結抗議，要求給付積欠的薪資。

賓拉丹集團受惠於過去10年的沙國經濟繁榮時期，最多雇用20萬人，從事許多旗艦基礎建設項目，包括機場、公路與摩天大樓。然而正如沙國的許多建設公司，過去一年，它因為國際油價處於低檔，迫使沙國政府為了降低將近1000億美元的預算赤字而減少開支，以致連帶受到重創。

沙國政府近年為促使更多沙國公民投入民間企業而推行勞動市場改革，導致營建業更難雇用外籍勞工，成本也更高。去年9月21日，賓拉丹集團因為麥加大清真寺的一部大型吊車在暴風雨中倒塌，造成107人罹難而再也無法取得公共工程合約。

賓拉丹父親創辦

賓拉丹集團最近與銀行密集磋商如何收拾債務的事宜，部分銀行並同意給予再融資。該集團大約負債300億美元。

1931年，已故凱達首腦賓拉丹的富豪級父親創辦賓拉丹集團。1993年，賓拉丹家族與賓拉丹斷絕關係。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/04/29/world/middleeast/29reuters-saudi-construction-binladin.html

2016-04-30．聯合晚報．A5．國際．編譯陳世欽