Disclaimer: The following information was based on various media reports at the time and was never confirmed by Resorts World itself.
Resorts World laying off a big part of its employees. The operator is laying off more than 7,000 employees in Singapore, New York and Malaysia
Resorts World Laying off Employees in Singapore, New York and Malaysia
The casino giant Resorts World has announced laying off employees in Singapore, New York and Malaysia. The company said that this was a difficult decision which was mainly caused by the negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak globally. Thus Resorts World announced laying off employees in:
- Approximately 2,000 employees in Singapore
- Some 2,211 employees in New York
- Approximately 3,000 employees in Malaysia
In a statement, Resorts World said: “Unfortunately, several weeks after ceasing operations in March, we were forced to make the difficult decision to furlough some of our employees.” The operator added that as a part of the process, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letters were sent to the furloughed employees.
Big part of the employees which were laid off by Resorts World were serving as housekeeping staff, game dealers and other customer-related positions. The giant has other properties which are located in the Philippines, South Korea, Bahamas and the UK. So far the operator hasn’t announced layoffs for any of those locations.
Tourism Crisis Pushed Resorts World Sentosa into Laying off Employees
Tourism took a heavy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic globally. Looking at Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) had some 7,000 employees, of which, 2,000 were laid off. The Straits Times said that the employees laid off in Singapore were a “one-off workplace rationalization.” RWS has announced that the operator has carefully reviewed all of its costs. It said that non-essential spending was eliminated. Furthermore, RWS pointed out that the management salaries were reduced with 30%. Although the company took those actions, the workforce still had to be reduced.
Keeping this in mind, the operator did not confirm a firm number of how many employees were laid off, but the approximate number is 2,000. RWS further noted that the employees who were laid off will be receiving compensation. In addition, RWS pointed out that it will collaborate with the Singapore Government in order to help the affected employees find a new job.
Looking back in April, when the COVID-19 was just beginning to spread globally, RWS has announced its plans about expanding the Singapore property. The project was named RWS 2.0 and featured an expansion of the current resort by introducing bigger gaming area as well as two hotels and other entertainment venues.
Focusing on another part of the globe, earlier this week Boyd Gaming announced 25% reduction of its workforce. This makes at least 2,500 employees which will be laid off in Nevada alone. Elsewhere, in California, the gaming association called for shutdown off all casinos including the tribal properties. The association pointed out that this is needed in order to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the state. With that in mind, the gaming industry in the US and around the globe will undoubtedly need more time to recover from the devastating COVID-19 hit.