Saudi Arabia to Fire 35,000 Yemeni Employees

Local Editor

Saudi Arabia will be firing some 35,000 Yemenis working in the country's mobile phone sector, in a plan that is apparently aimed at easing the country's economic difficulties caused in large part by a deadly war on Yemen.

In the context, Yemeni media reported on Tuesday that 35,000 Yemenis who are working in the field of mobile phone trade and maintenance will go unemployed following the Saudi decision of restricting working in this sector to Saudis.

The reports further said that the Yemenis, who financially support over 100,000 families in Yemen, received only three months' notice to quit their jobs.

Relatively, the Saudi Labor Ministry claimed on March 8 that the decision aims to create jobs for Saudis.

The news came as the Saudi cash-strapped government launched fresh austerity measures and ordered ministries to cut contract spending by at least five percent.

The kingdom is facing a budget deficit of nearly $100 billion caused by a sharp slump in oil prices as well as Riyadh's rising army expenditure, a large amount of which is being funneled into a military campaign against Yemen.

In parallel, the Saudis are selling off foreign assets and issuing domestic bonds in an effort to shrink the deficit and shore up cash reserves, which experts have warned would only last a few more years at their current rate of decline.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team