The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has announced that the government is to cover 60 per cent of salaries in the private sector industries hit by Covid-19.
The move is part of a 9 billion riyal ($2.4bn) economic package, and allows companies forced to consider staff lay-offs to apply for government aid of up to 9,000 Saudi riyals for the next three months. It comes as the kingdom’s virus cases hit 1,885 with 21 reported deaths.
Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan urged private sector companies to avoid laying off staff during the outbreak, adding that the new package, which will cover 1.2 million Saudis, will be managed through the national unemployment assistance system Sanad, and could extend beyond the three-month time limit. The first payments will be sent to companies on 3 May 3.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had announced various economic measures to help companies hit by the spread of the virus, with a 70bn riyal package exempting them from some taxes and fees, and a further 50bn riyal package sent to banks and financial institutions to help small and medium enterprises.
