Listen Now: Morning News

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races lays off 540 employees

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — Around 540 of the 1,300 employees at the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races worked their final day on Sunday.

The company that owns the casino, Penn National Gaming, announced in late July that it probably would not be able to bring back hundreds of workers, 40% at Charles Town Races, that were furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Penn National has said it will continue healthcare and pharmaceutical benefits for the workers until the end of that month.

According to the company, 12 of its other gaming properties in eight other states have also been downsized.

Eric Schippers

Eric Schippers, senior vice president of public affairs and government relations for Penn National Gaming, released the following statement to MetroNews:

“Based on the sudden and unforeseeable events in March,  we were forced to furlough 26,000 of our team members companywide in April.  At the time, we were hopeful that we’d be able to call the employees back within a couple of months.  However, while we have been able to reopen all but a couple of our properties on a limited basis, the continued social distancing requirements and uncertain business volumes means our properties will not be able to resume normal operations for the foreseeable future.

After thoroughly reevaluating our business in light of the ongoing pandemic, we communicated honestly and openly with our team members that it could be some time before our properties will require the same level of staffing due to limitations and restrictions placed on occupancy and offerings to create a safer environment.  As a result, we informed our team members that their furloughs may be converted to a permanent layoff in the coming weeks or months.  We had a legal obligation to send a formal WARN notice to all the team members who could potentially be laid off.  To be clear, however, that does not necessarily mean that all those team members will be laid off, and we’ve recalled a significant number of team members since then. Many of our competitors have already announced similar moves, which again is the very unfortunate reality of not knowing how long this global public health threat will last or when we’ll be able to resume full operations.

In the meantime, we also let our furloughed team members know that we’ll be extending their Medical and Pharmacy benefits coverage once again through August 31.  In addition, our COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, in which we’ve raised $1.7 million through private donations from our senior executives, Board of Directors, and our Foundation, is also available to help our Team Members with any emergency funding needs.  To date more than $700,000 has already been approved and processed for distribution to our team members in need.

These are extremely challenging times both on a personal and a professional level, but the steps we have taken to this point, and plan to take going forward, are all aimed at positioning our Company and the majority of our team members to be able to weather this storm and come out stronger on the other side.”





More News

News
MetroNews This Morning 3-29-24
Summary of West Virginia news, sports, and weather for Friday, March 29, 2024
March 29, 2024 - 6:24 am
News
Dunlow Volunteer Fire Department closes
The Dunlow VFD did not have a valid workers compensation insurance policy.
March 29, 2024 - 1:23 am
News
As Yeager Airport's Wildlife Patrol Dog turns 7, a new dog comes in to learn from him
The new Border Collie is getting acclimated and receiving training for his soon-to-be role.
March 28, 2024 - 6:30 pm
News
PEIA examines financial effects of new law meant to ensure local pharmacies get fair reimbursements
Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 453 into law this week.
March 28, 2024 - 4:11 pm