The slump in Middle East work is hitting UK firms and, increasingly, their staff, who are now feeling the pain as practices make tough commercial decisions In late November Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was informed that a ‘major’ resort it was working on had been cancelled. The scheme, which the AJ understands was in the Red Sea area, employed around half the Danish architecture firm’s UK workforce. Whatever its exact location, the unnamed project is one of the schemes, many of them in Saudi Arabia, impacted by spending reviews, delays and recalibrations.
As crude oil falls in value and the kingdom rethinks its development pipeline, some, including schemes being worked up by BIG, have been scrapped. Decisions taken in Riyadh are now resulting in severe financial pain for UK-based practices – firms that have committed substantial resources to delivering major developments – and it means scores of jobs are on the line. In BIG’s case, the unexpected project cancellation has led to mass redundancy plans and ignited an unprecedented demonstration against the job cuts on the doorstep of its London office in Broadgate. BIG has become the highest-profile example of how the ripple effects of the slowdown in Saudi Arabia are reaching far beyond its borders.
In the past month alone, the AJ has reported on the (further) scaling-down of NEOM’s linear city, THE LINE – masterplanned by Gensler – and on shrinking ambitions for Aedas and Zaha Hadid Architects’ (ZHA) TROJENA ski resort in the mountains, which has now formally lost hosting rights to the Asian Winter Games in 2029. The mountainous region of NEOM simply won’t be ready in time, the Financial Times revealed last month. Sources told the newspaper that ZHA’s contribution to the scheme was set to be downsized – possibly losing some of its standout features, including a supertall crystalline tower and an artificial lake.
The financial ramifications of the slowdown in the Middle East are becoming more evident in company reports. AECOM, which only signed a contract to work on the Mukaab in November, revealed a 42 per cent collapse in its Middle East income (around £46 million) in accounts for the year ending 3 October 2025. A drop also appears in Gensler’s latest accounts. THE LINE masterplanner’s revenues from work in the Middle East fell from £24.4 million to £19.1 million for the year ending 31 March 2025. However, in a statement with the accounts, co-managing principal Duncan Swinhoe said Gensler remained optimistic, having entered a ‘substantial confidential contract’ – also in the Middle East. If it comes off, that project will be worth £216 million overall.
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