{"id":5880,"date":"2025-11-18T09:00:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T00:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/?p=5880"},"modified":"2025-11-18T09:00:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T00:00:30","slug":"saudi-arabia-suddenly-hits-the-brakes-on-sky-high-salaries-for-foreign-workers-whats-happening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/finance\/5880\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia Suddenly Hits the Brakes on Sky-High Salaries for Foreign Workers\u2014What’s Happening?"},"content":{"rendered":"

JAKARTA<\/strong> – Companies in Saudi Arabia are changing their compensation strategies. Recruiters report that many businesses are beginning to reduce high salary packages, particularly for foreign workers.<\/p>\n

Previously, companies in the kingdom offered premium salaries to attract top global talent to work in sectors such as construction and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

The royal government is now controlling expenditures and restructuring economic priorities. Saudi Arabia is halfway through implementing its 2030 economic transformation blueprint.<\/p>\n

The kingdom aims to reduce dependence on oil revenues, create employment opportunities, and expand industries including tourism, real estate, mining, and financial services.<\/p>\n

As part of this long-term plan, the Kingdom has been investing heavily in multi-billion dollar megaprojects. While this attracts highly skilled foreign workers, it has also created challenges for the private sector and project implementation.<\/p>\n

Foreign recruits can no longer expect to negotiate salary increases of 40% or more, which was common practice earlier this decade.<\/p>\n

“On one hand, the region’s largest economy is rationalizing itself, and on the other, there’s an enormous supply of candidates who are very open to coming to the region. So what’s happening is companies are rethinking their compensation packages. That has clearly occurred,” said Magdy Al Zein, Managing Director at recruitment firm Boyden.<\/p>\n

This shift reflects a broader transition by Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is redirecting focus from megaprojects in infrastructure and real estate toward sectors like AI, logistics, and mining, which are considered to offer better returns.<\/p>\n

Examples include NEOM, a planned $500 billion futuristic city in the desert, and the Trojena mountain resort, host of the 2029 Asian Winter Games.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia recruited heavily for these megaprojects, targeting international talent with skills scarce in the local workforce. Fantastic salaries were offered when these projects launched\u2014for instance, project managers could receive offers around $100,000, while the same position paid only $60,000 in the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n

NEOM and other PIF-backed ventures now face delays as the kingdom rationalizes spending. Project activity in Saudi Arabia has remained sluggish in 2025, with salary offers nearly halved in the first nine months.<\/p>\n

Lower oil prices have also strained public finances, widening the fiscal deficit, even as Saudi Arabia has curtailed crude oil production to support the oil market.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Original Article:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Detik Finance. (2025, November 17). Arab Saudi Tiba-tiba Ngerem Kasih Gaji Selangit buat Pekerja Asing, Ada Apa?<\/em> Retrieved from https:\/\/finance.detik.com\/berita-ekonomi-bisnis\/d-8213655\/arab-saudi-tiba-tiba-ngerem-kasih-gaji-selangit-buat-pekerja-asing-ada-apa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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