Nadhmi A-Nasr, the Neom project's CEO, who was handpicked by Mohammad bin Salman (Bloomberg)

"If you don't tell me who's responsible, I'm going to take a gun from under my desk and shoot you."

This is how Neom's Chief Executive Nadhmi Al-Nasr conducted an emergency meeting, asking his communications team why they didn't warn him that some companies may cut their ties with the project following complaints against Saudi Arabia's human rights records.

Most of the people involved with the meeting later left the project, forming a small sample of an exodus of foreign staff from Neom, who are leaving the project due to the abuse they suffer.

Neom is the most ambitious project sought out by the country's Crown Prince and de facto ruler, Mohammad bin Salman (MBS). According to WSJ, the project is "a group of futuristic technology-driven communities with its own laws across an area the size of Massachusetts that the 36-year-old leader hopes will one day feature flying cars, robot dinosaurs and a giant artificial moon."

However, what bin Salman thinks is his utopia is proving to be closer to a dystopia, where employees and executives are made to feel that they're worthless because they are not able to meet the unrealistic expectations and demands being imposed on them by the project's CEO. Some even left $500,000 a year jobs in Neom rather than work under Nasr, according to former employees.

In a resignation letter, one chief executive who resigned in the summer of 2020 at a planned mountain resort at Neom said that Nasr's leadership was "consistently inclusive of disparagement and inappropriately dismissive and demeaning outburst."

"When they drop down dead, I celebrate"

Current and former employees say that the staff turnover has slowed the $500 billion project down, as Neom has only now begun breaking ground after more than "five years of planning and multiple master plans."

Moreover, there is a certain culture of fear among some of the executives delivering the projects, brought on by the jailing of Saudi businessmen and royals on trumped-up corruption charges as part of bin Salman's power grab. MBS also makes unrealistic demands for Neom, and often changes his mind, which further slows down the work pace.

“Nadhmi takes his cue from his boss and everyone else at Neom takes their cue from Nadhmi,” said Anthony Harris, former director of innovation in Neom’s education team, who said that as part of the project.

“You are made to feel like you’re absolutely worthless, notwithstanding the large amount of money they are paying."

In one meeting, Mr. Nasr told one executive to "walk into the desert to die, so he could urinate on his grave," WSJ reported.

Neom's CEO also said in a recording "I drive everybody like a slave...When they drop down dead, I celebrate. That’s how I do my projects."

A satellite photo shows palaces near Neom (AP)

Victory Secrets of Attila the Hun

One senior Saudi official said that bin Salman and the royal court know Nasr's management style, and are also aware of the high employee turnover at Neom, but apparently, they are under the impression that this style works.

After the Covid pandemic hit and lockdowns began in 2020, the CEO told employees stuck abroad that they were replaceable if they didn't come back to Saudi Arabia. Some never made it back.

Furthermore, employees were criticized at a town-hall meeting with Neom staff that took place in the summer of 2020 for allowing Neom to fall behind schedule. Staff were also ordered to tattle on employees' slowing progress.

Nasr, during a conference in Las Vegas in 2019 (Bloomberg)

One running joke in the project involved executives sharing images of a book they joked Nasr must have read "Victory Secrets of Attila the Hun", the successful business management book inspired by the exploits of the feared 5th-century leader.

Sexual misconduct

Neom, according to WSJ, aims to create a more liberal society than the rest of Saudi Arabia, following MBS' Vision 2030. However, current and former employees are saying that sexual harassment was frequent.

One female expatriate left Neom after complaining of inappropriate behavior by her boss, a Western executive who is close to Nasr and remains in his position.

Another British-American former employee told Nasr in an e-mail that she believed she was fired by her boss because she refused to continue a sexual relationship with him. Human resources haven't taken any action against the said boss.

“Misogyny, racism and abusive behaviors aren’t just tolerated by leadership, these abhorrent behaviors are in fact consistently demonstrated by leadership,” Andrew Wirth, the former chief executive of Neom’s mountain resort, said in a written statement.

Interestingly, instead of attempting to tackle these issues, Neom has opted to create a paranoid ambiance within its perimeters by installing cameras where employees live. Former IT employee who was part of the monitoring with the camp Joseph Wright revealed that the cameras watch "everything you do," frightening the many residents.