Louisiana casinos to lay off 1,150 employees
Operator PNG has confirmed it will lay off staff at four Louisiana casinos next month.
US.- A casino operator has revealed plans to lay off nearly 1,150 employees at four Louisiana venues next month due to the impact of Covid-19.
Pennsylvania-based Penn National Gaming has filed Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN) notices to lay off 161 workers at L’Auberge Hotel and Casino in Baton Rouge, 441 at the L’Auberge Lake Charles casino, 197 at the Boomtown Casino in Harvey and 347 at Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City. The redundancies will take effect from August 15.
Penn National said it furloughed 26,000 employees nationwide during the pandemic shutdowns, hoping to get most of them back to work, but that restrictions imposed due to the ongoing pandemic meant lay-offs were necessary.
Penn National’s senior vice president of public affairs and government relations Eric Shippers explained: “It could be some time before all of our remaining properties are open, and that those properties that are open will unfortunately not require the same level of staffing due to limitations and restrictions placed on occupancy and offerings to create a safer environment.”
The news comes after Boyd Gaming laid off more than 1,500 staff at five venues last week, while DiamondJacks Hotel & Casino in Bossier City closed permanently in May.
