MGM Resorts Is Laying off 18,000 Furloughed Employees

The global hospitality and entertainment leader MGM Resorts announced it will lay off 18,000 of its furloughed employees.

Some 18,000 Furloughed MGM Employees to Be Permanently Laid Off

Friday, August 28, MGM Resorts International announced that the company plans to lay off 18,000 of its furloughed U.S. employees, reported CNN. Earlier this year, the company had some 70,000 employees in the U.S. But once the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) started to spread across the states, thousands of MGM employees were furloughed.

Although MGM reopened almost all of its properties, currently MGM’s Empire City in New York and Park MGM in Las Vegas remain closed. With that in mind, effective on Monday, 18,000 of MGM’s furloughed employees will be permanently laid off by the company.

“Nothing pains me more than delivering news like this,”

wrote MGM’s CEO Bill Hornbuckle in a letter.

He outlined that the company’s heart is the employees and the world-class service which they provide. “Please know that your leadership team is working around the clock to find ways to grow our business and welcome back more of our colleagues,” added Hornbuckle.

MGM also said that the affected employees will keep their health benefits until September 30. Furthermore, the company outlined the possibility to recall some of the workers before the end of the year. Here it is important to mention that federal law requires furloughed employees to receive layoff notices after six months.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Hotel and Casino Industry in Las Vegas

The gambling and hotel operators in the U.S. have suffered a lot from the COVID-19 spread. The gambling capital of the world – Las Vegas wasn’t missed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as well. Although many businesses are trying to recover, some smaller traders have permanently closed. With that in mind, all casinos and hotels in Las Vegas that have reopened doors on June 4 had to implement strict health and safety protocols.

Those protocols were necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Among the restrictions which are still in place for hotels and casinos, we find reduced visitor capacity, social distancing, and mandatory wearing of masks as well as reduced amenities. And while those restrictions are in place, we observe that there are fewer visitors in Las Vegas.

According to a report by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), visitors in Las Vegas have decreased with 61% when comparing results from this July to July last year. Combining all those factors, we can honestly say that multiple industries in Las Vegas took a devastating hit by COVID-19. The direct result of this hit is thousands of layoffs and even permanently closing of some properties.

Focusing on the bright side, according to LVCVA’s report, visitors of Las Vegas have slightly increased when comparing results June-July. According to the paper, 370,000 more people have visited the gambling capital of the world in July. With that in mind, we can only hope that soon Las Vegas and the whole U.S. will finally shake off the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and begin its path to recovery.