Grand Biloxi casino asks 80 to voluntarily accept severance
BILOXI, Miss. — Grand Casino Biloxi is looking to trim its work force 80 employees by offering a severance package to volunteers.
Karen Sock, the casino’s general manager, said no one has been forcibly laid off.
“It is voluntary,” Sock said Wednesday. “So far we have had a number of people who are interested in taking the package. The voluntary severance package is 50 percent richer than if a person were to be indeed laid off.”
The packages are based on length of employment.
“This has nothing to do with employee performance,” Sock said. “They have performed in a wonderful way.”
Sock said the closing of the Biloxi Bay bridge, which links Biloxi to Ocean Springs and ultimately Alabama, has affected business for casinos.
“We’re now at the end of a cul de sac as opposed to being at a premium location,” she said. “We have every confidence in this market’s short-term and long-term growth. The business continues to grow. It just takes time for the market to get back.”
The bridge was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The Isle of Capri, the Beau Rivage and the IP are located in the same general area as the Grand.
In December, the Isle of Capri laid off about 200 employees due to a slowing seasonal business and the lingering effects caused by the U.S. 90 bridge being out.
Source: Sun Herald