2018 or maybe even earlier?
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The area was FPD
Yeah, he didn't help the situation for sure. I have heard many similar comments regarding KAF. There is some sort of consensus there.
They are deleting posts. You will never know the truth. Do not work there.
In 2015 they hired this large group of people who didn’t make it 60 days. I forget the name of the area, but that was not a good sign. I had been there 25 years at that point and was institutionalized, much like an inmate waiting for retirement or parole. I finally retired in 2017. I do not recommend working there.
When Falih was made CEO that was when expats were no longer valued.
It has been a slow change much like boiling a frog so that it doesn't jump out of the p-t. A slow attrition of expat bennies and a slow Saudization process and gradual replacement of expat leaders and mgmt with natives. All of this helps to gradually turn the tide. To place a year on the first glimpses of change; I would say circa 2005.
I was hired 2014 but in 2016 I saw the clear trend since there were staggered layoffs. I saw in many cases it wasn't even based on competence since many of my expat friends fired in that period were working on key projects. In one paricular case the guy was laid off right after returning from his repat.
After that I just bided my time. Come June 2020, I was laid off. In my case I knew very well since at the beginning of my tenure I started pointing out some inconvenient truths in my department which still remain the same to this day, but hey they have won countless King this and King that awards not to count the international prestigious certifications. But if I was an investor and was being offered that facility I wouldn't even take it for free.
Here is the sequence of events:
Fall 2014 - oil prices decline. Aramco cuts back on travel and the pace of Expat hiring slows.
Jan 2015 - New King. Expat fees increase, along with prices for staples. Government starts micro managing which Aramco projects go forward.
Sept 2015 - New CEO.
2016 - PIF takes the lead on In-Kingdom transformation initiatives. Aramco no longer considered the primary engine of change. PIF Chairman appointed to Aramco Board. Aramco starts to cut back on pay and benefits for new hires, and it really starts to push local labor into staff positions.
Fall 2019 - PIF Chairman becomes Aramco Chairman. Aramco IPO with big dividends promised. Aramco now officially a cash cow only. Aramco steps up Saudization even more.
Spring 2020 - Covid strikes. Aramco engages in mass downsizing of Expats.
Spring 2021 - Expat turnover skyrockets. Aramco starts hiring again.