LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Thousands of MGM Resorts employees will lose their jobs effective Aug. 31, according to a letter sent by CEO Bill Hornbuckle.
Approximately 18,000 are being laid off. It is unclear how many Las Vegas employees will be affected. Most but not all of the MGM Resorts properties have reopened in Las Vegas.
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The hotel-casinos were forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic. They were allowed to reopen June 4 but business has not been the same.
Hornbuckle also says that he understands the impact this will have on employees and their families and that the leadership team is working “around the clock” to find ways to grow back the business and bring back more colleagues.
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Tiffani Chappell, a former cocktail waitress for MGM Resorts, told 13 Action News that she wasn't expecting to lose her job and there is not a lot of current open positions in town.
"It's hard. You lose your job at the spur of the moment and you just don't know what to do. I mean you can't find another job because a lot of places haven't even brought back their staff so they can't hire any new staff it's hard," Chappell said.
The letter also informs employees that their health benefits are being extended through Sept. 30 and employees who return by Dec. 31, 2021, will retain their seniority and immediately resume their benefits.
MGM Resorts will also continue supporting current and former employees as needed through the MGM Employee Emergency Grant Fund.
