Saudi hiring is slowing, but AI skills are at a premium

Hiring is slowing across Saudi Arabia’s tech sector, but companies are still adding people — and demand is highest for people who can manage AI, including data engineers, cloud architects, and cybersecurity specialists, the EnterpriseAM Saudi desk reports.

“The market has moved into execution mode, so hiring managers now have to explain why a role exists, what it will deliver in its first year, and whether someone already in the team could step into it,” Unicorn Talent CEO Zeina Karrit tells us. Employment packages are being negotiated much more carefully, she says, noting that rushed hiring breeds mistakes on both sides, and firms that hire more deliberately usually know what they need.

Companies are also doing less hiring for repetitive tasks that can be taken over by AI, Karrit says.

MEANWHILE- Egypt’s Electricity Ministry said it’s going to make up to 1 GW in power available to data centers by 2030, according to a report in the domestic press. ICT Minister Raafat Hindy, meanwhile, said the Madbouly government will zone sites for data centers near subsea cable landing points, bundling in land, licenses, and permits in one go. Hindy didn’t name the sites or potential investors.