Automobile sector to be nationalized after Haj

After 100% Saudization of jobs in the telecom sector, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development will focus on total nationalization of jobs in the automobile sector, Arabic daily Al-Madina reported on Tuesday quoting an informed source in the ministry.

Ministry’s spokesman Khaled Aba Al-Khail said the Saudization of jobs in the automobile sector will start after Haj, and will be completed latest by 2017.

He did not fix a specific date for the start of the Saudization process but said it might begin within two months.

After dealers’ offices, the nationalization of jobs will be extended to car showrooms and car rental outlets, the spokesman said.

Faisal Abu Shusha, chairman of the car dealers’ committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), welcomed the move, but said that it should be thoroughly studied in coordination with car dealers before its implementation.

He said the sector is already Saudizied by about 50 percent. “There are about 1,500 salesmen in the sector of whom half are Saudis,” he added.

Sheikh Ali Riza, member of the committee of car dealers at the Council of Saudi Chambers, expressed reservations about the decision and said it will only target a maximum of 1,000 jobs as the sector has a total workforce of 2,000 of whom about half are Saudis.

He warned that expatriates working in car dealers’ offices will move to other showrooms.

“Car dealers will have to pay more to attract and maintain Saudis at high salaries. This will increase the expenses for them,” he said.

Riza said the Saudization of sales jobs in car agencies should be done gradually over two or three years if it is to be done at all, warning that sudden nationalization will increase operational costs.

Deputy chairman of the Council’s transport committee Saeed Al-Bassami said that car rental offices were already Saudized by close to 100 percent since there is an old decision to nationalize jobs in this sector.

He explained that every car rental office needs four employees with a Saudi as the head.

According to him, there are more than 8,500 Saudis working in 600 car rental offices in the Kingdom.