Thread regarding Saudi Aramco layoffs

Wow! IMO these last three posters have nailed it.
6fuz
6c1g
6ypd

Great advice from my POV and past experience (17yrs). I always used to say, "keep your head down and your powder dry...save, save, save".

You can change the trajectory of your life...if you have the emotional intelligence and ability to do the time...hard time.

My observation is some of the Saudis suffer from inferiority complex. I don't know where this stems from, maybe when they had traveled to west, they encountered some issues, I don't know… One thing certain though, they retaliate this against expats while they are in their country and of course at the company.

I completely agree with @6ypd+1tQAFvkk. Keep your head down, stfu and say 'yes sir' with a smile on your face. Speaking up and causing a dimwitted Saudi manager/co-worker to lose face will only get you fired....or worse....forced to stay there and listen to them give you cr@p whenever the moment arises. You are there for ONLY ONE REASON.....the monthly apology letter that is direct deposited into your home country bank account. Remember, you are not working a real job and you only have to sit there until 4pm. Keep your interactions with ALL co-workers to a minimum. Take some online courses during work hours and keep your skills fresh (my mistake was not doing this). Develop some cheap hobbies (like making your own wine). You should be saving as much as possible and maxing out your retirement and savings. And believe it or not, it pains me to have to give you such advice. It wasn't long ago that Aramco was a tolerable place to be.

@5ciz+1tQAFvkk

High risk strategy IMO. One thing downing tools, quite another being seen as a troublemaker. Aramco is akin to a Sicilian crime family in terms of modus. You will actively cause face to be lost, management cannot deal with failure remember. Your life will be made a living he-l as the one who broke the ormerta code of silence. They will go after your family. I’m not joking.

Honestly, best thing is to keep your head down and leave when you have met your savings target.

@5ciz+1tQAFvkk wishful thinking.

Its no surprise they lie and stab expats in the back. This starts from the interview until you leave. Its simple really, they are well known for this behaviour. Even saudis leave when they know they are not in the “In” crowd, this can be just because of their family name. Just leave, get another role, staying will do you mental damage. I was there for a decade, it was tough but ok at the beginning, but from MBS’s arrival, things changed, the local id--ts got promoted and knives were sharpened, before I left, comments were for locals and for expats, their view of us had changed. It may change back but I don't think so because you have not yet seen the worst of them yet. Now here is a point to remember, I still talk to my old colleagues both local and foreign, they are brothers, but then again, they are old timers. Money and corporate greed has caused this situation and I blame the CEO, he created this divisive situation. Things were not great under KAF but at least he understood how to value people, the current incumbent only wants to promote individuals based on family name and give expats a bloody nose. The country is growing but so is the debt. Expats will have a place again but I fear to rebuild after several years of d-mb thinking. I always said, hire the best and treat them well, thats the key to a company success, not this nepotism. Lets just wait until the current CEO leaves and we will see what the real situation is, very broken I suspect.

I’ve found one way that really sets the cats amongst the pigeons is to be totally transparent and open with these kind of things. Especially when it comes to open communication. Nothing light sunlight as a disinfectant. If something is being hidden, expose it via email to everyone.

If anyone complains you can point to the company values and training. Point to how you did things at BP, She’ll, Exxon etc..(that’s assuming you have actual experience and not a recent hire). It’s not like you’re getting promoted anyway so nothing to lose. You still keep the high ground and can go home at night with a clean conscience (something most locals lose at birth)

Only the best leave and do so on their free will.

“ This was done secretly of course. I hear about things second or third hand that used to be told directly. I have also been quietly uninvited to management meetings, it’s like I’ve been put out to pasture.”

Lack of Communication ranks top reasons to avoid working here. The chief position holders (CPH) guard information with their life especially those few expats still on the CPH chats and meetings. Knowledge is Power. Get used to not caring about what’s going on even when you know it could help your cr-ppy dept. And get used to understanding that a CPH expat might be the deadliest snake in the poorly designed, smelly, cramped prison cells they call an office. A camouflaged parasite spitting venom behind your back to protect his little corner (Personnel, Legal, Security, and closer to home…your department expat supervisors). Eventually you reach a point when you know caring, working, and even talking are wasted calories. You won’t get promoted for trying. You won’t get laid off for doing nothing. Simple choice when you consider who/what you are considering to help. The sooner you bow out the sooner you get on the road to recovery.

Wow!!! I see what they did there...
I have a friend who was offered in 2021 10% less base than what I got in my initial offer in 2013. Accounting for inflation it's 30% less.
Definitely the age of the golden expat is gone.
Make as much bank as you can and enjoy your hobbies.
May the odds be in your favor.

PS: Don't forget your TPS report.

Just over 4 years in the company for me.

Oiler, that's a good start, not letting them get to you. Sounds like you're taking the "Office Space" approach. Now don't get any ideas about gutting fish on your desk 😂🤣😂🤣.

Milk it for all it's worth, but work on your exit strategy. For starters minimize your Saudi posesions, once you get the boot all the third world expats will come knocking at your door haggling for every item on your garage sale. Better to be ready to pack quick, especially considering that HR will call you daily to ask about your departure date. I spent 4 months waiting due to the Wuhan bug

How long have you been in the company? Just to have an idea of the magnitude of the new severance since you mention you would get only four months.

@1ddv+1tQAFvkk

I’ll get just 4 months of base on my severance unless I stay for 10 years.

My tactic is to focus on non-Aramco business and outside hobbies of which I have many. Management have made their decision, nothing I can do will change that fact. Lawyers would be involved if this were back home.

@xre+1tQAFvkk think of Peter's principle on steroids. Any young local with a slight sign of competence gets promoted so quickly that they don't have time to mature their skills. Add to that a bunch of trophies enough to fill two whole offices with constant ego st-----g... Voila! you get a co--y know it all brat with a god complex and no real substance.

You can either bide your time till ELP comes or call it quits. Either way start polishing that CV.

I spent the last 4 years being cut out for being outspoken biding my time until along came the Bug from Wuhan. Meanwhile pass go and collect $200.

I hear the new severance package is not as good. Mine was 2 years of base salary for 5 1/2 years of putting up with the brats. Financially not bad.

I'm afraid it's too late to kowtow to the big bosses so you might as well work on your exit plan.

Welcome to KSA. Adapt or d-e.

Oiler, I am guessing that you were hired into a division head role, not promoted. Expats hired into any kind of management role at Aramco usually fail. The politics are brutal, illogical and therefore impossible for a new comer to grasp unless an old timer takes you under his wing. Not many old timers still around, and those that are tend to be selfish. It is every man for himself these days.

You made a big mistake. Never, ever disagree with management. It’s a militaristic culture, in their eyes you have committed treason, you should now be court marshalled, taken outside and shot. Either keep quiet, toe the line, or become an a-s-li---r sycophant. This is KSA not some enlighten bastion of free thinking.
Best of luck with your next role.

This is the carbon copy of what happened to me at a Western company (tech!) and the ELT surrounding me had no tenured inherent experience and when I finally pushed back on oddball projects due to burn out/exhaustion, exactly what the OP said. Shut out. Have lepracy. It must be in some handbook for the "The Art of War for dummies" or something.

Just as the young Z's and millennials get angry at the boomers. Many younger Saudis have much animosity toward the better paid expat class. If I were them, I probably would also.
They should take a hard look at the executive class at Aramco. Now those boys make some change!

You probably on the layoff list,Oiler
coming soon!

I cannot understand why expats are surprised when they encounter these feudalistic business practices. All standard in KSA business and society. It has been that way in KSA society forever and will continue. The word has been out long enough by now, that this is what an expat can expect. The golden age of the western expat in KSA has ended. Simple; either accept it or move on but don't be surprised and don't expect change.