Neom reportedly planning widespread staff redundancies and relocations as part of strategic review

The developers of Saudi mega project Neom are reportedly planning over 1,000 staff redundancies and the relocation of over 1,000 staff as part of a wide-ranging strategic review.

Following the departure of CEO Nadhmi al-Nasr at the end of last year, Neom is “considering significantly cutting its workforce”, according to a report in news website Semafor.

Widespread redundancies and relocations

Along with more than 1,000 redundancies, the mega development is reportedly planning to relocate over 1,000 staff from the Neom site in northwest Saudi Arabia to Riyadh.

Semafor reported that this would be a reversal of a “key policy” introduced by Al-Nasr, who wanted all key staff to work from the site of the development.

According to the report, no final decision has been made on the redundancies and relocations.

The restructuring would form part of a wider review, reported earlier this month, being undertaken by external consultants instructed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is funding the project.

Sahar Al-Anbar, who works in communications at Neom, responded to the report in Semafor with a comment on LinkedIn defending the aims of the review.

“These actions are actually reassuring”

“It’s natural for a project of this scale to go through periods of review and adjustment,” she said.

“These actions are actually reassuring and reflect responsible management. By reassessing resource allocation, Neom takes a proactive approach to stay in line with its ambitious long-term objectives,” she continued.

“Also, handling challenges in large-scale projects requires flexibility and a readiness to adapt. The ability to make strategic adjustments is a critical aspect of successful project delivery.”

Neom is the largest and most high-profile of 14 gigaprojects being developed in Saudi Arabia as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to shift the country’s economy away from a reliance on oil.

It has been criticised widely on human rights and sustainability grounds, and last year, we asked if it was time for architecture studios to walk away from the project in the face of mounting pressure from campaigners.

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