After paying its Las Vegas employees during the 78-day shutdown of the Nevada casino, Wynn Resorts Ltd. is set to place workers on leave, starting this week.
“Although we kept all of our people while we were closed, we now know how challenged business volumes are in Las Vegas and we are providing significantly reduced demand,” said spokesman Michael Weaver.
Weaver declined to say how many employees would be fired.
The announcement comes as pedestrian traffic in Las Vegas is reported to be slowing, with fewer visitors arriving as COVID-19 cases increase.
The Southern Nevada Health District reported more than 1,100 new cases of COVID-19 in the state on Wednesday, and 28 reported deaths tied Tuesday’s count for the largest increase in reported daily deaths since the start of the pandemic.
As of December 31, Wynn Resorts employed approximately 30,200 people at its operations in Massachusetts, Macao, as well as Wynn Las Vegas and Encore in Las Vegas, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About 16,400 of them were based in the United States.
The company’s statements said it paid salaried, hourly and part-time US employees through casino closings. Payments included tip compliance rate or distributed tips or tokens for tipped employees.
Nevada casinos reopened on June 4 and the Encore Boston port reopened on July 12, prompting many of Wynn’s staff in the United States to return to work.
A June statement from the company said it invested nearly $ 250 million in payroll expenses during the shutdown.
The permits come despite top executives giving up 33 to 100 percent of their salaries to compensate for ongoing employee payroll and other expenses.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Bailey Schulz at [email protected] or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.
