The American casino giant MGM Resorts International, hit by the closure or drop in attendance of its establishments due to the pandemic, announced on Friday that it was going to lay off 18,000 employees in the United States who are already technically unemployed.
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“While we have safely resumed operations at many of our properties and rehire tens of thousands of people, our industry - and our country - continues to be affected by the pandemic and we have not returned. to our full operational capacity , ” explained Managing Director Bill Hornbuckle in a message to employees sent to AFP.
The company, owner of the famous Bellagio and Mandalay Bay hotels in Las Vegas, among others, employed around 70,000 people in the country at the end of 2019. But like airlines and cruise specialists, casino groups have been hit hard by the Covid-19 and the restrictions it has created. The establishments of MGM Resorts Empire City, in the State of New York, and Park MGM, in Las Vegas, for example, still remain closed. But even open, the group's other casinos and hotels are suffering from the decline in tourism, capacity restrictions and the cancellation of many conferences and events.
MGM Resorts had laid off 62,000 workers in March, when everything had closed. The law obliges companies to permanently separate employees who have been laid off technically and not recalled within six months, which will be the case for 18,000 of them as of August 31. The general manager assures this Friday in his message that the company will recall the people made redundant as the establishments resume normal activity, depending on the needs of the company, positions and seniority. “While the immediate future remains uncertain, I sincerely believe that the challenges we face today are not permanent,” says Bill Hornbuckle in his post. “The fundamentals of our industry, our business and our communities will not change. Concerts, sports and entertainment will come back eventually , ” he wrote.
