Abu Dhabi lays off staff as Gulf austerity tightens

Abu Dhabi –Thousands of layoffs at state-linked companies in Abu Dhabi are a fresh sign the Gulf’s wealthy oil states are hunkering down for a long period of austerity as low crude prices pressure their economies. Since mid-2015, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries in the region have curbed spending on some construction projects and reduced energy subsidies to limit budget deficits caused by cheap oil. Now some governments are also starting to reduce staff at the companies they control, many of them in the energy industry, in order to ensure the firms are not a drain on state finances if oil prices stay low for several years. Abu Dhabi’s National Oil Co (ADNOC), with around 55,000 staff, has cut hundreds of jobs in the last few months and will have reduced its workforce by at least 5,000 by the end of 2016, sources familiar [...]