Saudi Arabia to pay some private sector salaries amid coronavirus fallout
Riyadh has announced it will cover a portion of private sector salaries in the industries most impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
![1208944694 GettyImages-1208944694.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2020/04/GettyImages-1208944694.jpg/GettyImages-1208944694.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=xsL3a7xA)
To prevent companies from laying off their staff, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announced Friday the government will cover a portion of private sector salaries in the industries most impacted by the novel coronavirus.
Salman unveiled an economic stimulus valued at over 9 billion riyals ($2.4 billion), according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency. Under his royal decree, companies needing to lay off employees can instead apply for the government to compensate 60% of those salaries for the next three months.