World Cup 2022 organisers to cut staff
DOHA: The organisers of the 2022 World Cup will lay off an undisclosed number of staff as gas-rich Qatar cuts costs amid the coronavirus economic downturn, several sources have told AFP.
The job losses, which have not previously been reported, follow similar redundancies at state-run organisations including Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Airways.
The government body organising the tournament, known as the Supreme Commi ee, directly employs 550 people – both Qataris and expats – but oversees the work of tens of thousands of contractors.
“The Supreme Commi ee has recently undertaken an internal exercise to assess the current workforce and engaged in a budget management and operational efficiency exercise as part of this transition,” the organisation said in a statement to AFP Monday.
The 2022 organisers did not confirm how many posts would be lost or what the projected savings would be.
Qataris have largely been spared from past staff cuts at other state-controlled organisations.
“As a result, we have taken the decision to make a number of positions redundant.
All due salary and end of service benefits will be paid to those leaving, in line with Qatari labour laws,” the statement added.
A source at one major engineering firm involved in the completion of one of seven new stadiums being built for 2022 told AFP that some staff at the company, an SC contractor, had also been terminated.
Despite the impact of coronavirus on construction work, slowing progress to
The Supreme Commi ee has recently undertaken an internal exercise to assess the current workforce and engaged in a budget management and operational efficiency exercise as part of this transition.
2022 World Cup organisers
permit social distancing, officials insist preparations are ahead of schedule and 85 per cent of all tournament infrastructure is now complete.
Officials have confirmed more than 1,100 cases of Covid-19 among workers at tournament projects and at least one virus death. Qatar passed the milestone of 100,000 coronavirus cases on Monday and has one of the world’s highest per capita infection rates.