RIYADH, 12 October — The joint aircraft maintenance projects of the American companies McDonnell Douglas and BDM have terminated the services of their 940 Saudi employees. The American companies, which have been working in the Kingdom since 1980, have taken this decision because the project’s period of contract in the Kingdom has come to an end.
A source at BDM, which employed 850 Saudis, said the company’s commitments to its Saudi employees ended on Sept. 30 and it had received instructions from the parent company in US to terminate their services. The company therefore served notices to the employees, stating that “their work with the company ended in accordance with the work contract.”
Abdullah Abu Nayyan, personnel manager at McDonnell Douglas, confirmed that the decision to terminate the Saudi employees was taken solely because the period of their contract with the company had come to an end.
However, the 90 Saudi employees of the Boeing company can continue until the end of October and the company has informed its employees that they will be eligible for all the end-of-service benefits specified in the employment contract.
The companies have also demanded that the employees vacate the residences provided by the company.
The employees themselves are deeply worried about their future as they will have to look for new houses while being deprived of salaries ranging between SR7,000 to SR 8,000. However, they hope that they will be re-employed by the Al-Salam Company for Aircraft, an establishment included among the Kingdom’s economic offset programs.
