Dubai: Public Relations agency FleishmanHillard is currently restructuring operations in Saudi Arabia following reports of financial issues. The move was confirmed by the agency’s spokesperson to Gulf News.
The non-payment of fees, apparently due to a lack of invoicing clients, has impacted their operations forcing the company to reduce their headcount in Riyadh. However the spokesperson has declined to state how many people have been made redundant or how exactly the restructuring has impacted their operations.
Another Dubai-based spokesperson said that FleishmanHillard Middle East was not closing down the office in Saudi Arabia. "We continue to operate from our Riyadh office" they said.
Jim Donaldson, Senior Partner, Regional Director of EMEA and CEO of the agency’s UK office, said in an emailed statement to Gulf News on Thursday. “The region has experienced change over the last few years so we are in the process of restructuring our KSA operation to ensure that we continue to service our local and international clients”
Gulf News’ attempt to contact Cameron Walker, FleishmanHillard’s general manager in the agency’s Riyadh office, went in vain despite his role still being listed on their global website.
Previous clients included Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Ministry of Health, the Saudi Ministry of Housing, and was part of the Saudi pavilion at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi.
The closure comes at a time when Saudi Arabia is undergoing reforms set to fast-track the kingdom’s economic growth this year and is ramping up communications in the country and around the world.
The agency, which was established in 1946 in St Louis, Missouri, US, opened its Middle East operations in the early 2000s.
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