Saudi Arabia restores state employee bonuses

Bonuses scrapped were reinstated as higher-than-expected revenue helped to drive down budget deficit

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman restored bonuses and allowances for state employees, scaling back an austerity programme that generated widespread criticism among citizens used to generous state handouts.

The government said bonuses cancelled in September were reinstated because higher-than-expected revenue helped to drive down the budget deficit. Minister of State Mohammed Alsheikh said in a statement to Bloomberg that the injection of more money was expected to stimulate economic growth, but others said the kingdom’s rulers were responding to the public discontent the cutbacks created.

The decision “constitutes a step back in terms of forging a new social contract that no longer offers