PROTESTS, LAYOFFS AND DEBT. IS THE BIN LADEN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY IN TURMOIL?
Ahmed FArwan
INTROUCTION
Saudi Binladin Group, founded by Osama bin Laden's father, is a giant of Saudi Arabia's construction industry. But with reports it has laid off 50,000 workers as it struggles under a mountain of debt, the once mighty company appears to be in turmoil.
*************************************
In a video posted on YouTube Saturday, flames rise high from a row of blazing buses and light up the night sky. The footage reportedly shows the result of a protest by disgruntled workers of the Binladin Group, angered by months of unpaid wages and the layoff of tens of thousands of staff.
Local media said that a total of seven company buses were set on fire by the protesting workers. Major Nayef al-Sharif, the spokesman for the Civil Defense in the city of Mecca, told the Associated Press late Saturday that firefighters put out the blaze without any injuries reported.
The protests came a day after news broke that the company has let go some 50,000 workers – totaling a quarter of its workforce going by the 200,000 employees the firm claims to have on its LinkedIn page.
******************************************
see the video
http://www.france24.com/en/20160502-saudi-arabia-osama-bin-laden-protests-layoffs-debt-construction-company-turmoil