" The World’s Biggest Construction Project Is a Magnet for Executives Behaving Badly" , 11 September 2024

a former Hollywood executive hired to run Neom’s media division, expressedfrustration over the interruption to his evening.

“A whole bunch of people die so we’ve got to have a meeting on a Sunday night,” he said on a phone call, according to a recording heard by The Wall Street Journal. He said the project’s blue-collar workers from the Indian subcontinent had been “f—ing morons” and" that is why white people are at the top of the pecking order.”

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In practice, the project has become a magnet for executives with checkered pasts and inappropriate workplace behavior

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...., has been recorded making racist and misogynistic comments. Another top manager has a corruption conviction in his home country and remains under investigation there. Neom has investigated other star executives for embezzlement. Subordinates say Neom’s chief executive berates and belittles employees.

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A falling pipe killed one worker; a wall collapsed on another; and one persondied after mishandling explosives.

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Even as Neom sought to limit fatalities, ... demonstrated a casual disregard for worker safety. “You can’t train for stupidity,” ... said in a later conversation about the deaths. “ The white blokes are at the top of the tree.”

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Neom in a statement said it has a culturally diverse workforce of roughly 5,000 employees from more than 100 countries and has a zero-tolerance approach to inappropriate workplace behavior. The project said it investigates every health-and-safety incident.

“Any allegations of wrongdoing and misconduct are thoroughly investigated,” Neom said. It added: “If any wrongdoing is substantiated, we take appropriate action.”

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Early in his tenure at Neom, Borg was hauled in front of human resources for calling a female subordinate, who is Black, a “Black shit,” according to some of the former employees.