Saudi Arabia announces $2.4 billion to pay private-sector workers amid coronavirus fallout

Saudi Arabia announces $2.4 billion to pay private-sector workers amid coronavirus fallout
As part of a stimulus package announced last month, Saudi Arabia's king announced $2.4 billion earmarked for private-sector workers' wages to prevent layoffs.
2 min read
04 April, 2020
Saudi's economy was rocked by plunging oil prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic [Getty]
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has pledged up to 9 billion riyals ($2.4 billion) to be disbursed towards paying part of the wages of private-sector workers, Reuters reported, in an effort to curb layoffs at companies amid the country's COVID-19 outbreak.

Last month, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan unveiled a 120 billion riyal ($32 billion) stimulus package to shore up the Middle East's largest economy, including 70 billion riyals set aside to help businesses.

"Instead of terminating the employment of a Saudi citizen, the employer has the right to ask social insurance to disburse as compensation 60 percent of his salary over a period of three months, with a maximum limit of nine thousand riyals (per employee) and with a total value of up to 9 billion riyals," the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a royal order.

Saudi Arabia last month announced plans to raise borrowing by 20 percentage points to 50 percent of GDP to steady an economy rocked by plunging oil prices and the novel coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia has confirmed a total of 2,039 cases and 25 deaths, the health ministry said on Friday.

The kingdom’s number of confirmed cases and deaths are the highest among Gulf Cooperation Council states.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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