Casino employees around the country continue to get bad news as the casino industry remains closed from the outbreak of COVID-19.
Last week, some of the larger casino companies announced mass layoffs. Caesars Entertainment furloughing 90 percent of its nationwide workforce and MGM Resorts let 60,000 employees go.
This week, the smaller operations are joining the trend. According to the Detroit News, tribal operation Four Winds Casinos laid off nearly 1,500 employees at its three Michigan locations. The company also laid-off workers at its one South Bend, Indiana location.
Frank Freedman, COO of Four Winds, told wrote a letter to state officials indicating that these will not be permanent layoffs. Likely, these employees will be rehired whenever the casino industry reopens.
“There is no intention that these positions will be terminated,” said Freedman. “Due to the rapid onset of COVID-19, for the safety and well-being of the employees, the casino has suspended services and is not open to the public.”
Gaming commissions in both Michigan and Indiana have not announced a date that they will reopen the industry to the public.
Eldorado Resorts, which is still in the process of merging with Caesars, announced Friday that it would be furloughing 470 workers at two of its casinos in Colorado.
The longer that casinos are forced to close its doors, the more employees will lose jobs as revenues continue to plummet. The American Gaming Association worries that without help from President Trump, the American casino industry is at risk of losing 1.8 million jobs.
With the most recent wave of layoffs, the total number of unemployment claims in the U.S. is more than 22 million since the COVID-19 outbreak began in March.
