Penn National’s Greektown Casino-Hotel To Lay Off 621 Workers In Detroit

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621 employees will be laid off at Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit, as part of the staff reduction measures implemented by Penn National Gaming properties. Penn National Gaming announced this decision on Monday, with the layoffs set to commence on September 15th.

The casino has officially submitted a notice in accordance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act to the state, validating the information shared by its parent company that certain furloughs will now transition into permanent layoffs nationwide.

Since March 16, Greektown has remained closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it is currently awaiting approval from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to resume operations.

Recently, the governor hinted that Detroit’s casinos might reopen in the near future, potentially aligning with the Fourth of July.

According to Playinmichigan, the temporary closure of commercial casinos in the state has resulted in an estimated loss of approximately $30 million for Michigan, while the city of Detroit alone has suffered a loss of around $50 million over a period of three months.

According to the Michigan Gaming Control Board, the casinos’ revenue experienced a decline of 51.6% in May when compared to the previous year.

WARN notice discloses Greektown layoffs

Greektown General Manager John Drake signed the WARN notice, stating that the layoff process would commence on September 15th and span over a 14-day duration.

The layoffs at Greektown Casino-Hotel are an unfortunate consequence of unforeseen and uncontrollable business circumstances caused by COVID-19. The sudden and dramatic impact of the pandemic on our operations was not anticipated until recently.

Drake later expressed that these substantial obstacles to our business are expected to persist in the foreseeable future.

The employees of Greektown, who are members of the Unite Here Local 24 union, have the privilege of exercising their bumping rights as per their collective bargaining agreement.

As of Wednesday morning, Playinmichigan had not received any responses from representatives of Greektown and Unite Here Local 24.

Permanent layoffs at MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino have not been announced yet. However, in May, MGM informed that it had temporarily furloughed a majority of its workforce, which resulted in 2,632 employees being laid off.

After the closure of all 23 tribal casinos in Michigan due to the pandemic, several of them have now reopened.

Layoffs throughout Penn National Gaming casinos

Penn National has filed a notice with the state of Pennsylvania, stating their plans to lay off a total of 233 employees in both Pennsylvania and their Las Vegas location. The layoffs are scheduled to commence on August 15th.

Playinmichigan received confirmation from a Penn National representative that permanent layoffs were imminent.

In April, it was confirmed by Eric Schippers, the senior vice president of public affairs and government relations, that a total of 26,000 employees were placed on furlough.

Schippers stated in a statement:

After carefully reassessing our business in light of the ongoing pandemic, we felt it was important to be transparent and forthright with our team members. It is possible that it may take a considerable amount of time before all of our remaining properties are able to reopen. Additionally, due to restrictions on occupancy and offerings to ensure a safer environment, the properties that are open will not require the same level of staffing as before.<br><br>Regrettably, as a result of these circumstances, we have informed our team members that their furloughs may transition into permanent layoffs in the upcoming weeks or months. We are required by law to formally notify all team members who may be affected by these potential layoffs, which we have done.<br><br>However, it is important to note that not all team members who received the notice will necessarily be laid off.

The extension of medical benefits for furloughed team members will be effective until July 31.

The funds raised for a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund for workers amounted to $1.7 million, as disclosed by the company. The donations were made by Penn National senior executives, the board of directors, and the company’s foundation.

According to the company, over $415,000 has been authorized for allocation towards emergency funding needs for team members.

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