by: WESH
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ORLANDO, Fla. (WESH) – SeaWorld, in an SEC filing, says the company committed to terminating some of its furloughed employees on Friday.
The company did not specify how many workers will be affected.
SeaWorld sent our NBC affiliate WESH a statement about the layoffs, saying in part, “While we were able to bring thousands of furloughed Ambassadors back to work and hoped to bring back everyone, the current environment requires us to set up the company for long term success. SeaWorld has determined that it must transition certain park and corporate personnel from a furloughed status to a permanent layoff.”
The news comes right before a forecasted busy Labor Day weekend for Central Florida’s tourism industry. The travel site TripIt claims Orlando ranks third in the country as a Labor Day flight destination.
“Are we turning the corner? That’s the big question. I don’t believe so,” Dr. Abraham Pizam said.
Pizam is the founding dean of UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. He tells us he does not believe a boost from Labor Day visitors will have a long-lasting impact.
“If there were enough, they wouldn’t lay off all those people or terminate them or furloughed them because they believe that the situation is still dire,” Pizam said.
The SeaWorld job losses come a week after more than a thousand employees of Universal-area hotels were furloughed or laid off.
Pizam suggests tourism will not bounce back until a COVID-19 vaccine is available.
“As soon as this is over, you will see a jump like we’ve never seen before,” Pizam said.
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