Detroit's Greektown Casino to lay off over 600 employees as of September

Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit is laying off more than 600 employees, as a result of the pandemic's impact on the company.

The hotel’s general manager John Drake said that the company is reducing its workforce, resulting in permanent layoffs starting Sept. 15 or during the 14-day period after that date, according to a letter dated June 12 obtained by the Detroit News. The layoffs will impact 621 employees, according to a notice filed with the state under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).

“This layoff will be permanent, but the facility will remain open,” the letter states. It also cites bumping rights for affected union employees.

In the letter, the company cites that the layoffs are "the unfortunate result of COVID-19 related business circumstances that were sudden, dramatic and beyond our control. The impact on our business was not reasonably foreseeable until now. We simply could not foresee, that the initial closures of our properties, that were issued by one or two states for a limited period of time, ultimately spread throughout all states in which we operate and eventually be extended, interrupting almost all business and travel temporarily." 

The layoff notice at Greektown comes as Detroit’s three casinos are poised to reopen when given the go-ahead by the governor. The three casinos have struggled with financial losses since they were ordered closed March 16 to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Their year-to-date combined revenue of $299.2 million was down by 51.6 % through May compared with $617.9 million in combined revenue reported for the same period in 2019, the Michigan Gaming Control Board said last week.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Tuesday that she hopes to allow casinos reopening before July 4.