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[FrenchConnexion]

Just wanted to share this sad and alarming news: almost 4000 lecturers' contracts have been abruptly terminated a few days ago. Those lecturers were working in all departments within the KSA universities (Math, Physics, English, etc.). In Arabic, it is said that the Ministry, after careful considerations, has realized that those jobs could be fulfilled by Saudis who have the required degrees.
There are several types of job titles within KSA universities, such as Language instructor (mudarris lugha), lecturer (muhaadir), professor, etc.
It is the lecturers who have been terminated, not the language instructors (yet).
Their contracts will end in 29th Shawwal, meaning a month after the end of Ramadan (basically in 2 months time).
See the picture describing the numbers here (in Arabic):
http://www.alriyadh.com/1133872

And here, you can find an article in Arabic which you can translate with Google Translate and get a sort of general meaning:

http://5khtawat.com/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%B9%D9%82%D8%AF-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88/

Nothing yet available in English AFAIK.

[nomad soul]

In that AlRiyadh news article, 3286 of the 3793 let go were in health-related jobs. Regardless, this was/is expected given the government's mission to replace contracted expats with qualified nationals.

65,000 expats in public sector
Saudi Gazette | March 3, 2016
Source: http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/65000-expats-in-public-sector/

RIYADH — The Ministry of Labor has said there are 65,000 expatriates working in the public sector, Makkah newspaper reported.

A source said the Ministry of Labor signed an agreement with the Ministry of Civil Service under a program titled “Efficiency and Development” to encourage the employment of Saudis instead of foreigners in the public sector. “For the past five years, the Ministry of Civil Service reported it has saudized 5,627 positions previously occupied by foreigners. A total of 3,367 Saudi women replaced non-Saudi women in public sector jobs,” said the source. The two ministries will link data of job seekers to better coordinate the hiring of Saudis, the source said.

The Ministry of Labor will also share some of its e-services with the Ministry of Civil Services to enable it to better manage the expatriates in the public sector, said the source. He said the agreement covers the Human Resources Development Fund, the General Organization for Social Insurance, the Technical and Vocational Training Cooperation, the civil service directorates, the Institute of Public Administration and Public Pension Agency.

(End of excerpt)

And from 2013...

Over 7,000 non-Saudi govt workers sacked
Arab News | 16 December 2013
Source: http://www.arabnews.com/news/493446

Riyadh: The Ministry of Civil Service has terminated the contracts of 7,468 non-Saudi employees working at several ministries and government directorates over the past year, according to latest statistics.

According to statistics from the Human Resource Development Fund at the Ministry of Civil Service, the ministry had previously contracted 3,196 non-Saudi employees — 1,404 men and 1,792 women — to work in several administrative and service jobs. According to government figures, there were 73,684 non-Saudi employees working in the fields of health and higher education in government ministries last year. The health sector accounted for the highest share of these jobs with 54,062 employees, while education ranked second with 14,195 employees.

A recent study showed that 457 Saudi employees have been sent on scholarships to study for higher degrees, with 54.7 percent studying for a master’s degree and 7 percent studying for a doctoral degree. Around 790 Saudis have been trained outside the Kingdom and 3,336 enrolled in study programs at universities and colleges inside the Kingdom.

Employment laws for non-Saudis stipulate that the Ministry of Civil Service should check the qualifications of non-Saudis if no qualified Saudis are found for the post.

The ministry is obliged to notify contracted employees about its intention to terminate their contracts if they are no longer needed or if a qualified Saudi national applies for the job. Ministries can extend the employment contracts of employees who have reached the age of 63 in agreement with the minister of civil service. Resolution 74 of the Council of Ministers stipulates the importance of reviewing contracts by leaders in government agencies. The resolution stipulates that contracts for non-Saudi fifth grade employees shouldn’t be renewed unless they are for employment in technical jobs.

(End of article)