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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/13/business/CB-Bahamas-Meltdown-Atlantis.php
Bahamas' Atlantis resort lays off 800 employees
The Associated PressPublished: November 13, 2008
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: The Atlantis resort in the Bahamas said Wednesday it has laid off roughly 800 employees, blaming low occupancy rates as the global economic crisis curbs tourists' appetites for exotic getaways.
The cuts represent about 10 percent of the work force at the country's largest private employer.
"This decision is both difficult and emotional as we are fully aware of the impact on the employees affected, the remaining staff and the Bahamian community in general," said George Markantonis, president of hotel owner Kerzner International Bahamas Limited.
The Atlantic archipelago's tourism-driven economy is reeling from a steep decline in visitors from the United States. Hundreds of other hotel workers already have lost jobs or seen their hours reduced.
Atlantis covers three-quarters of Paradise Island, an 800-acre (320-hectare) island just off the capital, Nassau, and is known for its large marine habitat and fantastical pink towers. It completed a $1 billion expansion last year that brought its number of rooms to nearly 3,000.
Sol Kerzner, chairman and CEO of Kerzner International, said the layoffs at its flagship resort reflect cost-cutting throughout the company, which develops and operates casinos and hotels around the globe.
The United States typically accounts for more than 80 percent of tourist visits to the Bahamas. The decline began early this year and accelerated with the global economic crisis, said Georgina Delancy, research manager for the Bahamas Tourism Ministry.
"When September hit, things went south," Delancy said.
A hotel workers union is tapping a rainy day fund for the first time to help underemployed members pay their bills. As many as 6,000 workers will receive $1,000 payments, said Roy Colebrook, president of the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union.
Colebrook said the entire industry has been rattled by a tourism drought that has left half the country's hotel rooms empty in the months leading up to its peak season.
People "will try to find some other line of work," he said.
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/national_local/293085536118144.php
"Until the Americans feel better and they are spending more and traveling more - and the property developers are able to borrow money from their banks and do some of the projects that we rely on them to do - it's going to be a difficult time and it's not going to be business as usual," he said. "And so, Bahamians must heed the advice that the Central Bank, that financial experts are giving them: Focus on spending for what you need and forget those wants."
Some workers from the famed Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island were among the most recent to lose their jobs amid worsening conditions in the hotel sector and the economy at large. It came two days after Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, in a national address, said unemployment is now a most serious concern.
"Many workers in the tourism sector face the prospect of layoffs or unemployment for a considerable period, and at least until the global economy, especially that of the U.S., is stabilized and returns to forward movement," Ingraham said.
Kerzner International, the owner of Atlantis, announced that it had laid off 800 workers, 10 percent of its staff at the Paradise Island resort. The layoffs left some workers feeling numb.
Bahamas' Atlantis resort lays off 800 employees
The Associated PressPublished: November 13, 2008
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: The Atlantis resort in the Bahamas said Wednesday it has laid off roughly 800 employees, blaming low occupancy rates as the global economic crisis curbs tourists' appetites for exotic getaways.
The cuts represent about 10 percent of the work force at the country's largest private employer.
"This decision is both difficult and emotional as we are fully aware of the impact on the employees affected, the remaining staff and the Bahamian community in general," said George Markantonis, president of hotel owner Kerzner International Bahamas Limited.
The Atlantic archipelago's tourism-driven economy is reeling from a steep decline in visitors from the United States. Hundreds of other hotel workers already have lost jobs or seen their hours reduced.
Atlantis covers three-quarters of Paradise Island, an 800-acre (320-hectare) island just off the capital, Nassau, and is known for its large marine habitat and fantastical pink towers. It completed a $1 billion expansion last year that brought its number of rooms to nearly 3,000.
Sol Kerzner, chairman and CEO of Kerzner International, said the layoffs at its flagship resort reflect cost-cutting throughout the company, which develops and operates casinos and hotels around the globe.
The United States typically accounts for more than 80 percent of tourist visits to the Bahamas. The decline began early this year and accelerated with the global economic crisis, said Georgina Delancy, research manager for the Bahamas Tourism Ministry.
"When September hit, things went south," Delancy said.
A hotel workers union is tapping a rainy day fund for the first time to help underemployed members pay their bills. As many as 6,000 workers will receive $1,000 payments, said Roy Colebrook, president of the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union.
Colebrook said the entire industry has been rattled by a tourism drought that has left half the country's hotel rooms empty in the months leading up to its peak season.
People "will try to find some other line of work," he said.
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/national_local/293085536118144.php
"Until the Americans feel better and they are spending more and traveling more - and the property developers are able to borrow money from their banks and do some of the projects that we rely on them to do - it's going to be a difficult time and it's not going to be business as usual," he said. "And so, Bahamians must heed the advice that the Central Bank, that financial experts are giving them: Focus on spending for what you need and forget those wants."
Some workers from the famed Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island were among the most recent to lose their jobs amid worsening conditions in the hotel sector and the economy at large. It came two days after Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, in a national address, said unemployment is now a most serious concern.
"Many workers in the tourism sector face the prospect of layoffs or unemployment for a considerable period, and at least until the global economy, especially that of the U.S., is stabilized and returns to forward movement," Ingraham said.
Kerzner International, the owner of Atlantis, announced that it had laid off 800 workers, 10 percent of its staff at the Paradise Island resort. The layoffs left some workers feeling numb.
