The Borgata Reacts to New Restrictions with Staff Modifications

Atlantic City’s top casino, The Borgata, sent a letter to some of its members of staff Friday afternoon, to inform them that they are either laid off or would face a reduction in working hours. The cuts are undertaken by the casino in response to the latest restrictions on indoor dining imposed by Gov. Phil Murphy.

New Restrictions Cause New Layoffs

The employment adjustment undertaken by the Borgata is affecting 422 workers at the casino, yet it was not immediately clear how many of them lost their jobs and how many remained with reduced working hours. All laid-off workers will remain on the casino’s health insurance plan until the end of the year.

Melonie Johnson, president at The Borgata, outlined the casino reaction was due to the strict limits which took into effect Thursday night and prohibited indoor dining from 10pm to 5am.

“Regrettably, due to the adjusted operations and overall impact of the pandemic on business, we’ve been forced to modify our staffing levels.”

Melonie Johnson, President, The Borgata

The order from Gov. Phil Murphy came in response to the growing number of new daily coronavirus cases in the state and across the country, and impacted indoor dining, which, according to Health Department officials, is more prone to spreading the virus than outdoor dining.

Only The Borgata Reacted to the Restrictions

The order forces state casinos to close their restaurants each night at 10pm, as well as stop serving beverages on the casino floor, and the Borgata is not the only affected one, yet it is the only one so far to undertake staff modifications in response, Bob McDevitt, president of the main Atlantic City casino workers’ union outlined.

In her letter to the affected employees, Melonie Johnson expressed the casino’s intent to return workers back to the payroll and increase working hours, as soon as the executive order by the governor is lifted and business demand returns. Unfortunately, the casino had no information as to when that would happen and could not assess the lasting impact from the restrictive measure on the business, The Borgata president concluded.

The new adjustment to the staff levels at The Borgata added to the nearly 2,300 workers laid off by the casino effective August 31. In a similar fashion, a letter from MGM President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Hornbuckle sent to the affected employees informed them about the pressing need of the business to implement structural changes, but vowed to return most of them, if not all, as soon as business returns to normal.